The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1884-07-01
NUMBER 21.
Early Birds.

In the crrious lithographic, slate Of
Solenhofen we have preserved for MS
great number of fossil forms with an
extraordinary degree OF perfection: and
among these are several which help US
on greatly from the reptiian to the va
ian structure. The lithoers2hic slate is
q member OF the upper oolitic formation,
and II is worked, as it's name implies, for
the purpose of producing stones for the
process OF lithography. But the same
properties which make the slate in its
present condition take so readily the i'm.
press Of letter or a sketch, made,it In
its earlier condition take the impress OF
the various organisms imbedded as they
fell in its soft mud, Even the forms
and petals OF early flowers washed by
floods into the half-formed mud bank
have been thus preserved for us with
wonderful minuleness. Most interest
ing Of all for our present purpose, how
ever, are the bones Of con n'emporary rep.
tiles and birds which this nature print
ing rock incloses for the boboof OF mod.
ern nsturalists. One such reptile, known
as s-compsegnathus, may be-regarded as
iilling among his own class the place
tlled among existing mammsls by The
kangaroo. II was rather swanIike,
erect saurisn, standing gracefully upon
its bind paws, with Its fore legs free, and
probably dragging It's round tail behind
1t on the ground as . support to steady
its gait. The neck was long and arched,
and the head small and bird like in shape,
but the jaws are armed with sharp and
powerful teeth, as in the pterodactyls.-
Altogether, compsognathus must have
looked in outward appearances not at all
unlike such birds as the auks and the
penguins. though its real structural az
inites lie rather with the emus and the.
cassowaries. The apteryx or kiwi of
New Zealand, which is "a bird that does
not Nv because 1t hiss no wings worth
mentioning to hv with, approsehes even,
nearer in the combination Of both points
in this very bird-like oolitic reptile
Even compsognathus himself, however
though very closely allied to the true
birds, cannot be held to stand at an act.
ual point in the progressive pedigree,
because In the very same Solenhofen
states we dnd q. real feathered bird in
Iperson. Accordingly, as the two were
thus contemporaries, the one could not
he the direct ancestor OF the other.-
Nevertheless. 1t Is from some form close
ly resembling compsognathus that the
true birds have descended. We have
only to suppose such reptile to acquire
torestina habits and to begin Jumping
freely from tree to tree in order to set
up the series Of changes by which true
hiri might he produced. But the first
historical bird OF which we know any.
thing. the arch@ ,pteryx of the Solen.
hofen slate, still remains In many points
essentially reptile 1t is only bird like
in two main particulars, its possession
OF rudimentary wings and its possess
sion Of feathers. From the popular
point OF view these two particulars are
decisive In favor OF Its being considered
a bird; but its anatomical structure Is
sufficient to make It at least half rep-
tile; and eminent-authorities have differ.
ed with their usual acrimony) as to
whether 1t ought properly to be called
bird-like saurian, or a lizzsrd-like bird.
There is nothing like mere question
OF words such as this TO set scientific
men or theologians roundly by the ears
for half century together.-From
Longman's Magasine.