NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 37 



their greatest grandeur where nature abundantly waters the lap of 

 earth* Such being a true statement of facts, as at present existing, 

 what must have been the condition of the earth and atmosphere 

 in those early days to which we have previously referred, to have 

 given rise to such profuse and rank vegetation ? The atmosphere 

 must have been deeply surcharged with aqueous vapor, which was 

 frequently condensed into rain and precipitated in torrents upon 

 the earth. 



The Tineina are the smallest of the small among the Lepidop- 

 tera, and, perhaps, the most eccentric in their habits of life. The 

 larvae also vary in their habits: some feed in the open air; others 

 in rolled-up leaves ; others are miners, some case-bearers, and 

 some feed upon clothes or the lining of upholstered articles. 

 There can be no doubt that the situations in which the larvae are 

 found are w r ell adapted to conceal such tender creatures from the 

 rapacity of vigilant foes. The cases which these larvae construct 

 with so much taste and skill, after having sheltered their fragile 

 forms during the period of feeding, serve by slight additional im- 

 provements to become fit dwelling places for pupae while preparing 

 for winged existence, by affording comfortable shelter from in- 

 clement weather. 



Whether there existed forms closely allied in habits to Tinea 

 tapetzella, T. pellionella, and T. crinella, that feed upon carpet, 

 feathers, furs, and skin, at present, palaeontology must bear answer. 

 It is evident that the majority of the species that flourished during 

 past ages were vegetarians, and plied their gastronomic art within 

 some sheltering leaf or case. During this epoch there flourished 

 various genera of Ferns, Cycads, Conifers, and several species of 

 Equisetum, materially dissimilar to any existing forms. 



If there were Tineids that subsisted upon feathers, and such 

 like, as at present, they were conspicuously few in number and 

 confined to restricted areas. The Portland dirt-bed has yielded 

 relics of fourteen species of mammals that have been referred 

 mostly to the marsupials, and but one or two to the non-marsupial 

 Inseclivora. These mammals were associated with remains of 

 insect life. These facts encourage the idea of a possibility of hair- 

 eating Tineids. 



This period, being preeminently one of reptiles, when the gigantic 

 Sawrians lived and delighted in their carnivorous exploits, could 

 scarcely have witnessed any remarkable development of moths. 



