316 



THE WORLD. 



this period the plesiosaurus, and the ichthyosaurus abounded, and 

 in addition we find another marine monster rivaling the largest 

 whales in size, possessing webbed feet armed with strong claws. 

 The flora of the carboniferous period, we have observed, con- 

 sisted mostly of ferns, and large coniferous trees, of gigantic di- 

 mensions, and of calamites, and numerous other plants the 

 exact nature of which is not yet determined; but in the lias and 

 oolitic formations an entirely new race of plants covered the earth. 

 The ferns, which formerly constituted two-thirds of the entire 

 species known, were greatly diminished, and the calamites and 

 palms all disappear. Coniferous plants were still very common, 

 but of different species from those of the earlier epochs, and 

 plants analagous to the Cycadese and Zamias of the tropical re- 

 gions seem to have replaced the ferns. The wood cut will give 

 a tolerable idea of the character and appearance of the flora of 



the oolitic period. During this Age of Reptiles, as it has been 

 termed, one of the most marvellous beings, and which for along- 

 time caused no little speculation and discussion among philoso-^ 

 phers, flourished in considerable numbers. It has been termed 

 the Pterodactyle, or wing-toed animal. ' (See next figure). This 

 flying reptile, possessing the head of a bird, the wings of a bat, 

 and the body and tail of an ordinary mammalian, appears to be a 



