New-York tribune., 1879-08-29

almost entirely 10 the living FORMS. M ains
was familiar with the literature OF tossil relna.ls
and had collected them hmself he qua iot InoL it
them in his system of plants and animals bnt KePt
them separate With the 5ii %pSIns STsnsi of seence
During the last quarter of the eighteenth
the belief that fossil remains were depoSite9" o' nw
OeIupe sensby declined and the dawn Oh nc"
era gradually appeared; Let us pause iIl @ . ie
here and what real progress had peen p.tb ptnb
what foundation had been laid on "h'ch u cS'''
lish a science of fossil remains , 49,,
Tho true nature If these objects had now peeh i
clearly determined They were the remains or nnt
mails and plants. Most of them certainty VIZ ~ 70
the relics of the Mosaic Deluge. but had 9eon W.
posited long before, part IN fresh water anu 9i % m
the sea Some indicated mId clatt 80 auu snocIas
The tronics That anv of these were extipct spccle
was as vet only suspected. Large 9Oiec uions vi
fossils had now been made, and valuable cslaogucs,
well iustratcd had beeh nnns;t;on Of fossils
Steno long before, had observed that the lowest
rocks were wiCltout life. Lehman had shown thaC
above theae primitive rocks. and derived from tDen
were the secondary strata full of the records OF me-
and above these were alknylIl depOsltS, whlch ne
referred TO local foods and the Deluge OF
Noah Rouelle Fuclsel and OdOard had shed
new light this subject Werner had dis'ln-
gusied the transition rocks. containing fossil re-
mains between the primitive and the secondary,
while everything above the chalk he grouped to-
Uether as The OverlOwed land" Werner, as we
have seen, had done more than this IL we give nun
the credit has pupils claim for him. He had found
that the formations he had examined contained
each it's own peculiar FOSSILS and from the Older to
the newer there was a gradual approach 70 recent
forms. William Smith had worked out tine same
thing i'll England, aud should equally divide the
honor of this important discovery.
The greatest advance, however, mp to this time,
was that men now preferred to observe rather than
to believe, and facts were held in greater esteem
thaa vague speculations. With TINS preparation
for future progress, the second period In the history
OF PalBOntolOgy, as | have divided 1t, may appro-
priately be considered at an end.
FIRST USE OF METHODS IN RESEARCH.
Thus far, l have said nothing IN regard to
branch of my subject the method of PalPOntOlog-
cal research, for up to this time, OF method there
was none. We have seen that those of the ancients
who noticed marine shells in the solid rock called
them such, and concluded that they had been left
there by the sea- The discovery of fossils led di-
rectly to theories of how the earth was formed
Here the progress was slow. Subteranean spirits
were supposed to guard faithfully the mysteries of
the earth while above the EARTH authority guarded
with still greater power the secrets men advance
of their age sought to know. The dominant idea of
the first sixteen centuries of the present was,
that the universe was made for Man. Ihis was the
great obstacle 10 the correct determination of the
position of the earth in the universe, and
later of the age of the earth The contest of AsrOn
omy against authority was long and severe, but the
victory was at last with science. The contest of
Geology against the same power followed, and con-
tinued almost to our day. The result is still the
same. In the early stagss Of this contest there
StF11e, science was DcnuLDtU Dy tue eliDTdct
of superstition and creed and little could be done
till that cast off, In superstitious age. when
every natural event is referred 10 a supernatural
cause science cannot live and often the sacred
fire may be kindled by COURAGEOUS far-seeing souls
Will 1t be queDched by the dense msts of ignorance
around It, Scarcely less fatal to tho growth of
science is the age of Authority, the past proves
too well. With freedom of thought. definite
knowledge. and certain progress but 1000 years
was long to wait.
With fhe opening Of the present century. began
new era of PaieOntOlOgy, which we may here dis
tinguish as the third period IN its history. This
branch Of knowledge became science.
Method replaced disorder. and systematic study
superseded casual observation. For the next half
century the advance was continuous and rapid.
One characteristic Of this period the accurate
determination OF fossils by comparison with living
forms. This VIII separate it from the two former
epochs Another distinctive feature Of this period
was the general belief that every species recent
and extinct. was "A separate creation.
At the very beginning of the epoch we are now to
consider three names stand out in bold Teljef Cuvi
er LamarcA aud William Smith. TO these men, the
science of PaleoutolOgy owes its origin. CuvieT
aud Lamarck in France had all the power which
great talent, education and station could give
William Smith, an English surveyor, was without
culture influence The last years of the eigh-
teenth century had been spent by each OF these
men in preparation for his chosen work, and the
results were now given to the world Cuyer laid
tine foundation of the PalBontoior OF Ferteb brate
animals Lamarck, of the L erte ehTates; and
Smith established the principles Of StratigTaphical
Paleontology. The investigator of fossils to-day
seldom needs to consult carrier authors OF the
science.
George Cuvier 1769-1s32, the most famous nat
uralIst Of his time was led 70 the study of extinct
ANIMALS by ascertaining that the remains Of fossil
elephants he examined We're extinct species. This
! idea" he SAYS later which announced to the In
! stitute III the month Of January, 1796 opened to
lne views entirely respecting The theory of the
! earth and determined me To devote myself TO the
long researches and TO the assiduOus labors which
! have now occupied me for twenty-five years"
IL is interesting to note here that In this first in
| vestigation of fossil yertebrateS, Cuvier employed
| the same method that gave him such important re-
suits his later researches. Remains of elephants
| have been known TO Europe for centuries, and
! many authors, from Phny down To tie cOntemp0-
! Taries of CuvieT, had written about them. Some
! had regarded the bones as those OF human giants
| and those who recognized what they were COusld-
| cred them remains OF the elephants imported by
| Hannibal or the ROnans. CuNler however, com
pared the fossils directly with the bones of existing
| elephants and proved them to be distinct. The
fact that these remains belonged 20 extinct species
| was of great Importance. IN the case OF fossil
Shells 1t was difficult say that an particular form
was not living m distant ocean but the two spe
cies of existing elephants the Indian and the Afr
! can were well known, and there was hardly posi-
! bility that another living one would be found.
The law of Correlation of Structures IA laid
! down by CuvIeT, has been more widely accepted
than almost anything else that bears his name; and
| yet, although founded IN truth and useful within
certain Limits, 1t would certainly lead 10 serOns
error If applied widely IN the way he proposed In
ms Discourse he sums this law as follows: "A claw
shoulder blade, cOndyle. leg or arm bone any
| other bone separately considered enables TO dis
cover the description of teeth to which they have be-
| Onged so also reciprOcaly we may determine the
form of the other bones from the teeth. Thus COM
mencing our Investigation by careful survey of any
one bone Itself, person who Is sufficiently master
OF the laws of organic structure, may, as it were
| reconstruct the whole animal to which that bone
| had belonged"
LAMARcK AND EVOLUTION.
Jean Lamarck 1744-1s29, the philosopher and
naturalist, a colleague Of Cuvier, was a learned
botanist before he became zoologist. bis re-
searches on the nyertebrate fossils Of the Paris
Basin, although less striking, were not less i'm