UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 99 



stone which immediately covers the chalk strata, 

 but no bones of land quadrupeds have been dis- 

 covered in that formation ; they generally oc- 

 cupy the ancient alluvial beds composed of sand 

 and pebbles which lie over the limestone. 



Some species, which though now extinct, be- 

 longed to families that still exist, have been found 

 among the remains of the more ancient and un- 

 known genera ; but none of the animals which 

 at present inhabit the earth are ever found, ex- 

 cept on the sides of rivers, or at the bottom of 

 marshes, or in the superficial formations ; and 

 though their deposition has been comparatively 

 recent, their remains are always the worst pre- 

 served. 



10th. The plants which I placed in baskets 

 in the pond have flourished so greatly, that I 

 want to try the same plan with other plants of 

 the same nature : my uncle laughs at me, and 

 says I would put the whole contents of the con- 

 servatory into my pond ; but indeed I only want 

 to try a crinum, a pancratium, and one or two 

 others. However, I shall confine my wishes now 

 to an agapanthus, or African lily, because my 

 aunt thinks that we shall be in Ireland at the 

 flowering time of the others, and that I should 

 not witness the success of my experiment. I 

 have re-potted the agapanthus in a rich sandy 

 compost, but I have only put the fibrous part 



K 2 



