CHAPTER VII 



Fossil Polycystina 1 



THE Chinaman will carve a solid piece of 

 ivory in such a manner that when he has 

 finished the performance, we behold to our aston- 

 ishment a series of beautifully perforated balls, 

 the lesser fitting inside the greater. Men of all 

 nations admire the genius and the dexterity which 

 produce such an artistically puzzling result. As 'a 

 thing of beauty is a joy for ever,' so it is with 

 the Chinese carving, but further than this it is not 

 turned to any practical service. Now, we have no 

 desire to minimise the ability or the patient skill 

 of John Chinaman, but if we can refer to Nature 

 and find an object very similar in shape, but so 

 small that a million of them would fit comfortably 

 into a lady's thimble, ought not our admiration to 

 be drawn out in a much greater degree ? 



The skill and the wisdom here involved must 

 be far beyond man's power to comprehend. Be- 

 sides, these minute objects, throughout their whole 



1 Greek polus, many ; kustis, a cyst, or box. 



