sustain those changes which convert animal substances into fossils, and hence few insects have been found in this state. The crustaceous coverings of the bodies and limbs and the hard wing-cases of a few genera, are the chief, and, perhaps, the only fossils which can be referred to this class.

Fig. 97.

The Trilobite, or what is called in England, the Dudley Fossil, fig. 97, is considered by some an insect, but by others a bivalve shell. Its superior covering, the only part distinctly preserved, is oblong, ovate, convex, and marginated; the anterior, wider part is gibbous, and furnished with two semilunar, tubercular projections resembling eyelids; and posterior to, and on the inner side of each of these, are two round tubercles. Adjoining to this part, commences a series of scale-like, transverse slips, so disposed, that the three rows of these connected slips, form three longitudinal, transversely divided lobes, gradually diminishing to the lower termination. In some specimens, the fossil is nearly globular, showing that the animal had the power of coiling, or folding himself together, like the millipede. It is doubtful how this animal accomplished locomotion, since it is not certain, that any indications of legs and feet have been observed. This insect fossil has been found four or five inches in length, though the common size is much less.

It occurs abundantly in the organic limestone formation at Trenton Falls, New York.

Fossil Fishes. Mr. Parkinson says, that "The fossil remains of fishes are found in such various states, under such different circumstances, and in the formations of such distant periods, as cannot but lead the zealous inquirer to expect, that he shall derive from their examination, information of considerable importance."

The fish, in some specimens, are found nearly entire, the harder parts, "all in their natural situations, with their scales, and even skin preserved. In others, all the other parts are removed except the skeleton, the bones of which either retain their original relative situations, or have undergone considerable distortion, or even dislocation. In

some instances, not only separation of these parts has taken place, but the greater part of the skeleton has been removed."-Organic Remains, 277.

There is, probably, no class of animals, the remains of which are found in the fossil state, that are capable of being referred to so many living analogues as fishes. According to Mr. Lacepede, more than thirty Asiatic, African and American species, have been found in the neighborhood of Verona, in Italy. The most celebrated locality of fossil fish is at Monte-Bolca, in Italy, and it cannot be doubted, that the catastrophe, whatever it might have been, which caused this vast accumulation of the finny tribes, must have been almost instantaneous, and that the fishes were not only suddenly deprived of life, but, immediately afterwards, buried in the deposite where they are now found. This appears from the singular circumstance, that one fish was found in the very act of swallowing another, having apparently had not sufficient time before it died, to let go its prey. Now, when any fish (especially if furnished with an air bladder,) dies, it remains at the bottom of the water for two or three days, it then rises to the suaface, decays, and the bones sink to the bottom. Hence, if some time had elapsed between the death of this fish and its burial, it would, instead of being caught in the earth, have rose to the surface of the water, and at least separated from the victim it was about to swallow. This is probably the reason why fossil fish are so rare, even among strata, known by other remains, to have been deposited from the sea. They first rise to the top of the water, after being deprived of life, where they remain until the flesh is so decomposed, that the bones separate, and are dispersed. We may, therefore, conclude that in most, if not in all instances, where fossil fish are found, they must have died and been buried by some extraordinary catastrophe or convulsion.

Besides the proof just adduced of the suddenness of the revolutions which have entombed fishes, in almost all cases, the remains have been found in postures indicating a violent death. Thus at Eisleben, in Thuringia, where there is a locality of ichthyolites, the fish are in every possible attitude, some of them three feet long, often lying on their backs, or recurved into constrained positions, with their heads crushed and disfigured. The strata, enclosing them is a marly slate, impregnated with copper. and bitumen.

The fish at Monte-Bolca are by some thought to owe their destruction, and the origin of the rock in which they are enclosed, to an adjoining volcano. The formation in which they are found is a marly slate. This though not volcanic, might have arisen from the disturbance of a volcano. The remains as now found, show that most of the fish were enclosed in the earth while in an entire state, and many of them are still so perfect, that their generas have been determined, as the following list, among others, found there, is sufficient to show. The shark, ray, file-fish, sun-fish, globe-fish, trumpet-fish, pike, silurus, herring, pipe-fish, cod-fish, blenny, goby, mackerel, bull-head, gurnard, gilt-head, perch, flounder, flyingfish, eel, dory, and many others.

Thus it may be observed, that although the remains of most quadrupeds are those of extinct species, a great proportion of the fossil fishes are those of living genera.

Arrangement of shells in strata. Although, as stated at the beginning of this article, the succession in which organic remains occur in the strata, from below upwards, coincides, in a general sense, perfectly, with the succession, in which they were created, that is, plants, and "the moving creature that hath life," and the birds, were formed before the quadrupeds and man; still this general fact proves nothing with respect to the "successive developement of organization," as some have attempted to show. Could it be proved that from the most simple organization, found in the lower strata, there was a regular gradation towards the most complex, there might exist some ground for a pretence, that there had been a gradual and constant improvement in the works of creation, leading to the atheistical supposition, that nature had improved by experience. But in detail, this gradual developement of organization does not hold true, since animals of a more complex structure, are often found in deeper strata, or below those which are less so.

"It has been conjectured by some naturalists," says Mr. Parkinson, "who had become convinced of the comparatively late creation of land animals, and of man, that the peopling of this planet had commenced in enduing with the principle of life, beings of the simplest forms and organizations, and that by the influence of certain external causes, acting through passing ages, those changes

had been gradually wrought in succeeding animals, from which have resulted the numerous differences which constitute the various tribes, rising from the almost lifeless sponge to the highly complex and more perfect animal, man. On this hypothesis it might be expected, that those beings which had possessed life under its most simple modifications, would be found in the earliest strata; and that, in proportion to the lateness of the period at which the strata had been formed, would be the degree of complexity in the organization of the inhabitants whose remains they contain. But investigation has ascertained, that such a conjecture, with respect to shells, is ill-founded. In the carboniferous and mountian limestone, are discovered the remains of shells, of apparently the earliest creation, which are unexpectedly found, with hardly an exception, to exceed, in complexity of structure, all the shells which have been discovered, either in any subsequent formation, or living in our present seas. It is in this early creation that those shells are found which possess that complicated structure, very rarely found in shells of this day, which enabled their inhabitants to rise and sink with them in the water. Such are the many chambered univalves, the Nautilus, Ammonites, Orthoceratites, &cParkinson's Org. Remains, p. 254.

The hypothesis of, the gradual developement of organic life, which it is thus shown cannot be sustained by facts, is both sceptical and unphilosophical. Its object is to prove that after the simplest forms of plants and animals had existed for ages, from these, there gradually resulted other plants and animals of more complex kinds, and so on in progressive improvement, until both, during the lapse of myriads of ages, arrived at their present state of perfection. It is sceptical because it either acknowledges no creator, or denies his power to form at once the most perfect beings; as though the same power which created an oyster, wanted the experience of millions of years, to form quadrupeds and man. Thus shewing that the work of creation, for this reason, instead of being finished in six days required millions of years. It is unphilosophical, inasmuch as it supposes that new genera and species, of different and more complex kinds, have been derived from others which were less so; whereas in truth, we find that nature is invariable in this respect; not a solitary instance being known where this has happened either in

plants or animals, Will any one, in his senses, believe that the oak ever sprung from the polypod or mushroom, that the flying fish came from the sponge, or that man began his race in the form and capacity of an ape? If this is ridiculous, the doctrine of progressive organic developement is equally so, since it is founded on these very suppositions.

Alternating Marine and Fresh Water Shells. It has been supposed that in various parts of Europe, there was sufficient evidence of alternating marine and fresh water shells, embedded in strata, and that, therefore, those parts of the earth where such phenomena exist, must at some remote period, have been alternately covered by salt, and fresh water. In France, there occur beds of gypsum and marl, in which are found the remains of quadrupeds, and above these, occur marine shells; above which there is another fresh water formation.

The gypsum and marl being considered fresh water deposites, it is supposed that the bones found in them, belonged to animals which inhabited the shores of the lake, which once existed there.

From such facts, Cuvier and Brongniart, inferred that these different beds demonstrated the repeated alternations of the sea, and of fresh water on the same tract, and that while the sea deposited marbles and slates, the lakes in their turn formed gypsum, marls, &c. But while maturing such opinions, these naturalists found it necessary to admit, that gypsum might be formed from salt, as well as from fresh water, and finally that marine and river shells were really mixed together. Still, Cuvier maintains the alternation of fresh and salt water formations; which doctrine is, however, strongly opposed by several naturalists of great ability. Metherie objects entirely to the supposition, that because the bones of land animals, and fresh water shells, are found in these formations, that therefore there must have existed a fresh water lake, but sees no difficulty, in supposing that both were carried where they are now found, by the current of a river, which also deposited the matter in which they exist, in the sea, the water gradually retiring as the deposition was formed.

M. M. Brard, and St. Fond, are of opinion, that all the shells found in these depositions, originally existed in the same water; but that in process of time, perhaps from the