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vestigation, have abundantly proved, why — I may ask — should not 

 minute fragments of the other parts of the skeletons of extinct animals 

 afford us, by the same method of manipulation, some indication of the 

 particular class to which such fragments belong ? 



Having paid considerable attention to the minute structure of bones 

 for several years past, and finding that there were certain characters 

 peculiar to each great class which could be easily recognised, I have 

 allowed no opportunity to pass without trying to determine, by micro- 

 scopic examination, how far I could proceed with my investigations 

 with certainty ; and, to show the value of such investigations, 1 may 

 mention the first result. 



It happens, by a singular coincidence, that two years ago, this very 

 day, my friend Dr. Falconer, the distinguished palaeontologist of the 

 Himalaya Mountains, having in his possession certain small bones of 

 unusual form, from which circumstance he was at a loss to determine 

 to what animal they belonged, I, at his request, made a microscopic 

 examination of some sections of them, and comparing their intimate 

 structure with that of other bones in my possession, was enabled to 

 pronounce them reptilian, and to belong probably to an animal of the 

 turtle order ; and they subsequently proved to be the toe-bones of his 

 Colossochelys Atlas, or gigantic Tortoise, nearly 20 feet in length. 

 Encouraged by this success, I have, since then, extended my re- 

 searches, and have found that, in each of the four great classes of 

 animals, the bone-cells present certain peculiarities in their form, 

 which, when once an observer is conversant with, he would be enabled 

 to satisfy himself as to the true affinities of doubtful specimens of or- 

 ganic remains. 



The microscope has, in skilful hands, already achieved wonders, but 

 much remains still to be done, in this, as yet, uncultivated field ; 1 have, 

 therefore, ventured to bring the subject before the notice of the Society 

 this evening, deeming it worthy of the attention of every individual who 

 may be engaged in the pursuit of palaeontology, geology, anatomy, or 

 any of the collateral sciences : for when satisfactory evidence of the affi- 

 nities of fossil bones cannot be obtained from external features alone, 

 there are yet present in the minute structure certain characters which 

 may materially assist the observer in the determination, if not at once 

 fix their true position in the scale of animated beings. 1 need not 

 dwell, at this time, on the conflicting statements which have so fre- 

 quently been published, concerning the true nature of certain fossil 

 bones, most, if not all, of which statements would probably never have 

 appeared, had the intimate structure of the bones in dispute been well 



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