E/jbert Harkness, Esq., on FossU Footprints. 247 



said to have bad their origin since the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century. Amongst these there is none which has 

 made more gigantic strides than geology, which seems to 

 have burst from its swaddling bands, and hurried forward in 

 its progress until it has become of Herculean proportions. 

 This rapid progress which geology has made is in a measure 

 owing to the circumstance, that this science consists in the 

 application of facts, which other branches of science have 

 furnished us with, to the form, structure, and contents of the 

 planet which we inhabit. In the application of these several 

 facts it became necessary, that, in order to any great pro- 

 gress being made, there should be subdivisions in geology as 

 to lead to the application of two distinct sets of facts ; one 

 derived from what, in a restricted sense, has been termed 

 physical science, and the other, information which natural 

 history has given to us. To the former we are indebted for 

 a knovvlege of the conditions which have caused the different 

 mineral deposits, and also the mode in which these are ar- 

 ranged, as well as other circumstances connected with their 

 occurrence ; and to the latter we owe what information we 

 possess concerning the various races of animals which have 

 at different periods been occupants of our earth, and which 

 mark epochs of existences, and indicate the commencement 

 and termination of the several geological formations. A know- 

 ledge of natural history is required before any advancement 

 can be made in ascertaining the forms and structure of the 

 multitudes of species which existed anterior to the present 

 order of things ; and as these ancient types of organic beings 

 are devoid, to a great extent, of such characters as are now used 

 in discriminating existing species, it became necessary that 

 other and more permanent characters should be adopted, by 

 which to trace out the affinities of extinct forms ; and, conse- 

 quently, we have that branch of natural history called Palae- 

 ontology devoted to the examination of the characters and 

 nature of the fossil remains which are obtained from the stra- 

 tified crust of the earth. The remains of extinct races of 

 animals are found in different states of preservation. Of the 

 lower tribes of organic beings, such as zoophytes and shells, 

 tlie structure is such as to furnish us, even in a fossil state, 



