The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-01-25

they had become mIred ana perished,
are the petrifed forms of huge mon
sters fifty feet in length. The utmost
care is required in getting them out,
and the labor of three men has been
engaged in tho service for three or four
years.
The work is all done for the Yale
College museum, and paid for out of
the Peabody fund. The scientific inter-
est of the Yale collection has been
much heightened by the bones taken
from this quarry, and the work will no
doubt continue as long as new or spec
ialzed forms continue to be found.
1.-The forms of nature, said my host,
himself no mean authority in compare
tiy anatomy and all else pertaining to
his special field of research, ''the forms
of nature change, but her methods are
continuous. The work that went on
here, at the mouth of this old Jurassic
river, millions of years ago, is now
going on at the delta of the Mississippi
and all other large streams that empty
into the ocean. Such rivers doubtless
convey food relished by certain species
of fish and sea animals which come to
the spot where it debouches to feed.
Thither then come the larger and
stronger species to prey upon them.
We know very well that these larger
ones, the monsters of our time, fire.
quently get mired and perish. When
the species becomes extinct those bones,
too, will become curiosities. Thus ma
ture continues to write her history upon
the rocks, which speak it forth to man
again as he slowly and laboriously
turns the difficult pages of her book. )"
1t is a humanizing and refining study.
Whether it is that only gentle natures
take it up, or that it has the magic to
work gentleness in the soul of him that
does so, it is at least to be observed
that savageness is at its very lowest
point in them that commune much with
nature through any of her forms. This
family of Felch, that has been engaged
on these excavations, are typical Yam
KEGS, but all the New England angu-
larities have been toned and softencd
in them. Those rough-clothed boys,
who had found this scientific bonanza,
made me ashamed of myself when they
talked of the geology of the region.
That demure girl, who has no more no.
ton OF the exact or proper thing in the
way OF bang or hustle than Co
manche maiden, will jump out of
warm bed before sunrise one of these
cool mornings and run away half q
mile to clay bank where she knows a
certain rare species of bug may be
found at just that particular hour. If
they send her to the spring for bucket
of water, as likely as not, they will
have to go half hour later and bring
both her and the water in for break
fast. She has been leaning over the
spring all that time reading thrilling
story-to her; but, dear girls, beloved
sisters and cousins, you would never be
thrilled by anything so stupid. 1t is
not tale of high life ut all, in which
you learn the habits and language and
manners of the upper classes from some
literary shop girl. She has only been
studying the way those curious little
worms in the bottom of the spring
cover themselves with preparation of
SILICA and lime extracted from the
water, making shells for themselves.
Stupid, wasn't it? Not half so smart
as high-heeled shoes and bandoline, and
handkerchief Irritation, and 10-cent
novel on high society. Dear girls, you
would make this demure child ashamed
of herself with your precocity in firta-
ton and your wonderful store of max
inns about 1.-THE gents" She would not
know that you are spelling your hair |
with your ridiculous frizzes and raising
a crop of corns in those hish-heeled |
shoes to destroy your future happiness.
She might even envy you, and you |
would certainly despise her style-that |
is, her utter want Of style. But when
you are little, old, weakened, premature
women of 80, painting your wrinkled
skin, pairing your corns, and lamenting |
your thin hair, and seeing high life in a
cheap clearinghouse, this girl will be
a fine, fresh, clear-eyed, and clear
headed young woman, whose compan-
ionship will be sought after by men of |
sense. and probably by men Of distin-
guished sense. / am preaching; but,
to tell the truth. was more interested
in the live children up in that secluded
park than in the dead saurians.
o-Dn--