Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-06-05
The Earliest Animals.

of crime.
The Earliest Animals.
The earliest that can be found on an,
living thing are the remains of sea-weeC
and OF the club-mosses that grow in wei
places. Soon, however, animals appear
ed, and the layers of Silurian rock are
found in some places to be entirely com.
posed of the shells of animals. Some.
times these shells are very small, but some
are larger than those of any animal now
In existence. Nor is it by any means Ger.
tain that small animals were created first
Little and big seem to have existed TO.
gether We find the shells of animals SC
small as to be invisible, except under the
microscope, side by side with shells foul
feet broad. The framework of the tiniest
creature which helped to make up these
layers of rock is extremely beautiful.
The little coral animals commenced their
busy career during this age, building
limestone reefs and making the beautiful
chain coral which can still be seen on the
limestone cliffs in the western states.
Another kind of animal, related to the
polyp, and called ''crinoid must have
greatly added to the beauty of the Siln ian
seas. We find its remains in the shape OF
a curiousl y carved, six-sided body. From
each of five sides ily-like arm was sent
off, and the animal was fastened to the
rock by stem running from the centerof
the sixth side. Professor Agassiz called
them ''stone lilies
Other layers of rock are composed wholly
OF the remains of queer animals called
"trilobites. They belonged to the same
family as our Holsters, and varied in size
from one-sixth of an inch to two feet in
length. There were two great depressions
running lengthwise in their bodies, which
divided them into three lobes. They had
also the same ring-like divisions running
around the body as are seen in Holsters.
They swan on their backs, and had the
power of rolling themselves into ball
Probably this was done to defend them.
selves against some foe Many were
caught in this position when the mud was
changing into rock, and kept for us to see
In other layers of rock are found fossils OF
different animals OF the lobster. Nothing
like these old animals is found now.
So many mollusks- that is, soft animals
with hard shells, like the oysters-then
swan in the waters, that this age is some
times called the age of Molusks.' They
were OF all sizes and shapes, and there
were millions and millions of them. There
was one, belonging to the same family as
our nautilus, which was four feet across
Another resembled nautilus unrolled. Il
was from ten to fifteen feet long, and
measured a foot in breadth.
The remains of fishes are found, for the
first time, in some of the upper layers be-
longing to this period In Wales, in the
land of the Silures. they claim to nave
found one layer composed entirely of fish
bone.
Now, there is something we must keep
in mimi when we speak of remains" in
geology, or else we shall be disappointed
when we see these fossils. If you
ever break open stone, and have the
great good fortune to find in it the remains
of a leaf, what would those remains be
like? A real leaf? No, nothing but the
impression of one. No wood no pulp.
Simply picture engraved on the hard
rock. So, also, with the remains of a fish,
no body, no BONES onl y an impression;
but so true one that biologists can tell
even the way it swan, and, in some cases,
the nature of its food! AS you were told
before, these remains are called fossils.
What thrill CT pleasure it must give to
find one yourself-to think that little bit of
world history has remained sealed up in a
rock for, centuries, waiting for you to find
it!
So far, as we have journied in our trav-
els through the back ages, we see a world of
water, with such plants and animals as
live in water 1t is true that little patches
of dry land existed, as at the close of the
first period; ana these had even been in
creased little by the addition of beaches.
But these bits of land were so small, com
pared with the vast expanse of ocean, that
we are justified in calling it world Of
water" 1t must have been very thick
ly inhabited water world" since whole
layers of rock were made from the animals
which swan in its depths or padded on
its surface. Through the Back
Ages" by Teresa C. Crofton, in st. Nicho-
las for May.
By advise of the Brussels Academy Of
Medicine the Belgium government has
forbidden all the public exhibitions of
hypnotism, and declared all hypnotism
unless used legitimately for healing pur-
poses, to be illegal, while hypnotic treat.
ment of girls under Is years of age is OBJ,
solutely prohibited.