PREFACE, vil 
to acquire some knowledge of a subject of such vast 
and universal interest. 
In carrying out the object which he has held before 
him, the Author can hardly expect, from the nature of 
the materials with which he has had to deal, that he has 
kept himself absolutely clear of errors, both of omission 
and commission. ‘The subject, however, is one to which 
he has devoted the labour of many years, both in 
studying the researches of others and in personal 
investigations of his own; and he can only trust that 
such errors as may exist will be found to belong chiefly 
to the former class, and to be neither serious nor 
numerous. It need only be added that the work is 
necessarily very limited in its scope, and that the 
necessity of not assuming a thorough previous acquaint- 
ance with Natural History in the reader has inexorably 
restricted its range still further. The Author does not, 
therefore, profess to have given more than a merely 
general outline of the subject ; and those who desire 
to obtain a more minute and detailed knowledge of 
Paleontology, must have recourse to other and more 
elaborate treatises. 
UNITED COLLEGE, ST ANDREWS, 
October 2, 1876. 
