THE MUSEUM. 



183 



Some bivalve shell-fish close the 

 valves of their shells by the aid of two 

 muscles, and others by the aid of one. 

 The former 4re a higher type, and the 

 valves seem to be much more symmet- 

 rical in shape and they are also gener- 

 ally of later age in time. A multipli- 

 cation in the number of parts, in the 

 same organs, such as an increase in 

 the number of vertebra' running out 

 into the upper lobe of the tail fin in 

 the old Ganoid fishes, or an excessive 

 number of segments, beyond the typi- 

 cal number in some insects, shows in- 

 feriority. Species having the poster- 

 ior part of the body prolonged, are the 

 inferior ones of that type. Hence Lob- 

 sters are inferior in rank to Crabs. 

 Animals that to arrive at full maturity 

 pass successively through the fully de- 

 veloped form of other species, are 

 higher in rank than the species passed. 

 Thus the young frog (Tadpole) has a 

 Salamander tail which is lost in the 

 adult frog, hence the Salamander is in- 

 rerior to the Frog. Organs which in 

 some animals are made use of to sub- 

 serve the purpose of thought and in- 

 telligence, instead of ministering sim- 

 ply to bodily wants shows the super- 

 iority of their possessor. Thus in 

 quadrupeds, all the four legs are used 

 as organs of locomotion and are all 

 placed to the ground. In the Squir- 

 rel and Cat, the two front legs and 

 feet are used also to convey food to 

 the mouth and are thus often removed 

 from the ground and in some measure 

 act the part of arms and hands and 

 thus show the superior rank in this 

 type, while in the human, they have 

 become real arms and hands and are 

 wholly removed from the ground and 

 now aid entirely in the higher intellect- 

 ual purposes of his nature. And this 



being the extreme length to which 

 that distinction can be carried, shows 

 his superiority in the highest degree in 

 this respect. 



A shortening of the jaws, and thus 

 of the anterior extremity, and a con- 

 centration of the nerve force into a 

 brain and spinal chord, to be the seat 

 of thought and reason, and the con- 

 trolling power of action, shows the 

 highest mark of superiority, and is 

 found only in perfection in man, which 

 in unison with his erect and not hori- 

 zontal position — another mark of su- 

 periority — which gives him the ability 

 to look upward, and not entirely earth- 

 ward like the beast, and with aspira- 

 tions corresponding to his upward 

 gaze, proves him to be the head piece 

 of creation, towards which all life in 

 the past ages has converged. The des- 

 tiny of man is the problem that the 

 future geological age is to unfold and 

 with his moral nature freed from all 

 that now affiliates him to the bestial 

 creation he will yet so impress the age 

 that it may indeed be called the "Age 

 of Man." Geo. M. Crofts, 



Keokuk, Iowa. 



Turritella sanguinea, Red Sea. 



£y^ 





'■-m 



Cypraea Madagascarensis. A neat little species 

 from Madagascar. Has the appearance of be- 

 ing mammillated all over. 



