PRESERVATION 25 



which peopled the world in former periods have been lost by this 

 means. 



And lastly, it must ever be borne in mind that, as yet, our 

 knowledge of the stratified rocks of the earth's crust is very limited. 

 In course of time, no doubt, this deficiency will be to a great 

 extent made good ; but it will take a long time. Already, within 

 the last thirty years, the labours of zealous geologists in the 

 colonies and in various countries have added largely to our know- 

 ledge of the geological record. Still, only a small portion of the 

 earth's surface has at present been explored; and doubtless one 

 may look forward to future discoveries of extinct forms of animal 

 and plant life as wonderful and strange as those that have been 

 of late years unearthed in the " far West," in Africa, and India. 

 The Siwalik Hills of Northern India offer a rich harvest of fossils 

 to future explorers. Already one remarkable and large horned 

 quadruped has come from this region ; and it is known that other 

 valuable treasures are sealed up within these hills, only awaiting 

 the " open sesame " of some enterprising explorer to bring them . 

 to light. 



As previously pointed out, deposits formed in lakes are the 

 most promising field for geologists in search of the remains of old 

 terrestrial quadrupeds and reptiles; but, unfortunately, such 

 deposits are rare. 



It is very much to be regretted that the carelessness and in- 

 difference of ignorant workmen in quarries, clay-pits, and railway 

 cuttings have sometimes been the cause of valuable fossils being 

 broken up, and so lost for ever. Unless they are accustomed to 

 the visits of fossil-collectors who will pay them liberally for their 

 finds, the men will not take the trouble to preserve any bones 

 they may come across in the course of their work. (Examples of 

 this negligence will be found on pp. 41, 65, and 295.) But when 



