The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-02-16
Geological faper--S0. q. I.
Es--lr. gEI!.I.s AND F.sEEs.

il VIII 10 IIy object IN tie course Of
these fa..e., 81 ..-,eut those I---s cAiE
EH-. "a ;.Ie Interesting 10 tAe g-as. Il -rs..-
er a-d "a tam as lL-... as possible from
the Use @; al-tsuse terms OF words.
Wl=h, IN snort. TO 20 s,a,p Ply geological sci
CaCe taa5 It may b. ea-j!y Understood. a.d
prove t. lie "a source OF advantage and de
light 10 81 / propose IN tlii- paper to de-
scribe g few Of t.e rctri!od fishes a;.J
aL-.ls found fossil. I.-!s existence in the
Older OF pal. oZo-c rocks I:.,,Ig-t- .-at tH,y
H-!e among tEe first created Lo-n-s. a-.
coevel aiJL the formation Of the earth. IT,
The older strata their remains ara l.ss
abundant. and inferior in size and 5t"u :
ure, -u. they increase IL numbers and .la-
pr E,- ID organization @s sc advance Up-
,v.~l- in tie s-Eias until in t.e latest
rocks they approach IN type the species
Ja-t aaaT live in the ocean and !ivs.-.-
About 5000 different living Species Of i,l
asr BOW .-uown. N-a..E l..-.t have been
discovered ....., and I-ui : .ts-.z c..cu-
late. ta.t .A.tH have existed in a,jt.,e .e-
c---.ra. ages. ne remains Of the mark
..r : .T q LI-.aIt III the more recent stta-
Ia I.e tooth O4 one Of enormous -.ze VA
found a iuT years since III the OJl..ia rocks,
~...c.i measured according - tie rule
given - @5o.o lists, seyeuty feet in length
-ia.y other species allied to the shark
have teen taken from tac Wsalaeu group
n England Dr. Aan,c.l found several
--rGt.5 related: % tie PIE, suu..>A, and
-,8u4DiA ot our Au.e.iCau I.yeg- and also
Q s..at7 composed Of InIg:at.a mud, sand,
and ds;..tUs. A..cd with the bones, veTIe-
UI.a. ..i.i teeth ot these fish. Bat tHi> IS
10 unusual I..ag, iog extensive h..- t.es
oi .-.- character have since been found,
both .l this country aud Europe ! naye
zaye-s. very good specimens o. yefteJr,o OF
L-A, "...cA / cl.se4eG Cutol the EeGUAlon
Limestone. Thomas Hawkins, III E.s lex
ter, Gea-rlJe> the remain. q {, riu .l!ar
: Isl. or reptile. wi.ich occurs IN tie las or
Lne.aud. This monster had the s,out Of
+ = luE.ai.e. the teeth o. a crocodile, the
head %. d. lizard. the ye:t-l.a o! IL =, and
. ,.. H. .a..s II "a whale. 1t was tL.s,y !e-i
lo.E, the .ra-th Of the jaws being TX ..-t
. Il vas an l@usullaut cf the ocean. and
probably lived Oh small prey. Another
remarkable reptile was the I.Sr.iEcgi d.
! TINS Al8~yEs and complex animal - de
teriniLei by the 4u4tofu!tt Cuyier, had
tie head and meek OF bird, tie sincs Of
I & bat ana the tail and body OF n!amuli-
fer. Il seems 10 have been adapted - lie
both ii earth, air, ana wG,e.-lI!.e Mi
toa ; E.end,-
Ger he or steep through sIssT;, rough, dense, CT
W, lead hrads, Wigs or feet. r,r-sa,s his va
A.. .yls, s.ss, Nadss. CT cre-is. or .';-.."
Bat us,Ja5ly the most wonderful e:,-
,.Dct ln-Hh,ss Of the :.lny tribe yet dis
covered. age those figured hy Hugh Miller,
in tie old Rcd Sandstone Of Scotland.
which sle di&erent from All Others in the
form ot the BODY, head, and teeth. No
thing aIala -oUs ID them has becn found
10 lie ola Red Sandstone OF thi. Siete, but
l!g. Lari.aLl. .! " Wisconsin, has announced
that there are similar kinds In the Devon
Ian rocks near Milwaukee. The shei! fist,
are those animals which have DO veTtebra,
bat are attached 70 their shell hy muscles,
hence their name, hollUsca The oyster
and our fresh wafer clam are familiar
examples. The largest are the Ammonite
sEd OGtLoceri, marine anla,als.b which
described ia a former paper. There are
bes des innumcraIle families of smaller
size, such as the Nautilus, Cyreua. Ano
don, dc, which are fresh water animals
Their shells are scattered everywhere
.slon. the rivers, and IN beds of sand and
clay. The famous Sussex marble Is com.
posed entirely Of tissc shells and calcare-
Gus clay. Inc cavities are filed with the
iimy clay changed 10 spar OF beautiful co
lois. This is much used for the columns
OF public buildings, and many monuments
in " e> minister Abbey are constructed 0!
il, 1t Is said to rival in beauty and dufg.
bjity any marble in the world. These
marbles property belong to th< crctace0u.
OF chalk formation, but are notconfueG &c
IT, The mcl!uscs that lived and died II
the rivers, and the reptiles and Inam.nalis
that !iOugi-hed or their banks were proba
tiy carried down and Undecided in deitas
and Get,itus. which, by the action of lime
and other inturatiDg substances, finally
became consolidated. | do not hesitate Il
say that like change is now going o..
even IN our midst. At one place Ill ,he
bed OF the EcrmilioH there j. :. stratum Ol
clay three feet thick, which IS quite soit GA
top. bat gradually LaFdcps a. You di-
down. until at the bottom il Is as nara -
the limestone upon which the clay rests
This stratum | found WAS t.ied will,
, shells, pebbles, cncrinites, and pieces oi
wood. / have 10 doubt that the materials
were tIrifted there, and that other in
stances Of similar character may be
fouud deposit Of this kind occurs a
The mouth OF the river Rhone, and Is solc
, caicareous rock. Others OF great exten
are forming at the moath of the Gang
and Mississippi, and indeed OF all great ri
: yers. These need only consolidation |,
form rocks, shales, and limeston
W. VIC.
The sun does not shine always, nor is j