ii SKELETONS OF BIRD AND REPTILE 21 



and unsatisfying in, for instance, the isolated fact that 

 a certain bone in a certain part of the skull is called 

 the Squamosal (SQ, fig.- 10). Something is wanted to 

 give point and interest to such dry fragments of ana- 

 tomical knowledge, some strange variation in the bone 

 in question in different classes of animals, or a theory 

 as to the origin of the skull, so that the memory may 

 not have to deal with what abhors it more than anything 

 else — viz., isolated meaningless facts. There is much 

 pleasure to be got by putting the wing of a bird and the 

 fore leg of a lizard side by side, and observing the 

 changes that have made a fuller and more vigorous 

 life possible to the bird. The same kind of interest 

 may be found in a general comparison of the skulls. 

 But since it is difficult for human weakness to main- 

 tain this during the slow groping progress through 

 the labyrinth of bones, I shall pass over this part 

 of the subject without going into any detail. There 

 is, however, something of a clue to the labyrinth. 

 Gothe discovered one which will lead us some way, 

 though not nearly so far as he imagined. The skull, 

 according to him, was simply an expanded vertebral 

 column, all its chief bones being vertebra?, the name 

 given to the series of bones which combine to form 

 the neck, backbone, and the bony skeleton of the 

 tail, all included in the term vertebral column. 

 This is one of the great ideas which advance science. 

 Even if it had turned out entirely unfounded, still 

 something would have been learnt in the process of 

 testing it. But this theory has not proved to be with- 

 out foundation. There is no doubt that the skull is 

 made up partly of vertebra?. But, so far, the dimcul- 



