vi CONTENTS 



V. BIRDS OF OLD 



Earliest birds, 51; wings, 53; study of young animals, 53; the 

 curious Hoactzin, 53; first intimation of birds, 55; Archaeopteryx, 

 55; birds with teeth, 5^; cretaceous birds, 56; Hesperornis, 57; loss 

 of power of flight, 57 ; covering of Hesperornis, 59 ; attitude of Hes- 

 perqrnis, 60; curious position of legs, 60; toothed birds disappoint- 

 ing, 61; early development of birds, 61; eggs of early birds, 62; 

 how flight began, 63; references, 7 tf 



VI. FLYING REPTILES 



Size and habits, 69; covering, 69; rare in North America, 73; 

 structure of wing, 73; spread of wing, 73; Pteranodon, 73; crest 

 and possible uses, 76; how did he walk? 77; references, 79. 



VII. THE DINOSAURS 



Discovery of Dinosaur remains, 81 ; nearest relatives of Dinosaurs, 

 82; relation of birds to reptiles, 82; brain of Dinosaurs, 83; parallel 

 between Dinosaurs and Marsupials, 84; the great Brontosaurus, 

 85; food of Dinosaurs, "86; habits of Diplodocus, 85; the strange 

 Australian Moloch, 88; combats of Triceratops, 88; skeleton of 

 Triceratops, 89; Trachodon and his kin, 90; Stegosaurus, the 

 plated lizard, 92; Tyrannosaurus, 93; references, 95. 



VIII. READING THE RIDDLES OF THE ROCKS 



Fossils regarded as sports of nature, 97; qualifications of a success- 

 ful collector, 97; chances of collecting, 98; excavation of fossils, 

 99; strengthening fossils for shipment 100; great size of some speci- 

 mens, 101 ; the preparation of fossils, 101 ; mistakes of anatomists, 

 102; reconstruction of Triceratops, 103; distinguishing characters 

 of bones, 103; the skeleton a problem in mechanics, 104; clothing 

 the bones with flesh, 106; the covering of animals, 107; outside 

 ornamentation, 108; probabilities in the covering of animals, 108; 

 impressions of extinct animals, 109; mistaken inferences from bones 

 of Mammoth, 111; coloring of large land animals, 112; color 

 markings of young animals, 113; references, 113. 



