ORY 



ORY 



abundant. There appears to be only 

 two species of elephants now in existence ; 

 one (the Asiatic) being distinguished by 

 its grinders being divided into transverse 

 and nearly parallel plates, and the other 

 (the African) having these plates dispos- 

 ed in lozenge-like forms. 



The elephantine remains which have 

 been found in Siberia, have been suppos- 

 ed to have belonged to no existing spe- 

 cies ; for though the teeth are formed of 

 plates disposed parallel to each other, as 

 in the Asiatic, these plates are said to be 

 thinner, and consequently more numer- 

 ous ; but this distinction is by no means es- 

 tablished. The remains of elephants dis- 

 covered in this country seem referable, in 

 most instances, to the Asiatic. 



With respect to the elephant whose re- 

 mains have been found in America, the 

 tooth of which differs essentially from all 

 known fossil or recent species, in having 

 its crown cuspidated and covered with 

 enamel, (Plate II. fig. 6 ) there exists at 

 present every reason for supposing it to 

 be of a species now extinct. The gene- 

 rally adopted opinion, that this animal 

 was of a carnivorous nature, is by no means 

 established ; but is indeed contradicted 

 by the assertion, that the stomach of one 

 of these animals has been found filled 

 with vegetable matter. One of these ani- 

 mals, with its flesh, skin, and hair, has 

 been lately found in Siberia. 



The remains of an animal, of an enor- 

 mous size, has been found at Paraguay, 

 at no great distance from the river Plata, 

 which, being properly arranged, has been 

 formed into a skeleton, and placed in the 

 cabinet of natural history at Madrid. 

 This animal, twelve feet in length and six 

 in height, is distinguished, as well as by 

 its general form, by the largeness of its 

 claws ; on which account, Mr. Jefferson, 

 who has described some remains of a si- 

 milar animal, in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions of Philadelphia, has named it the 

 megalonyx. The celebrated Guvier has 

 arranged this animal with the sloths; 

 but Faujas St. Fond, concluding that an 

 animal so enormous was never intended 

 to climb the trunks of trees, thinks he 

 should not be thus classed ; and wishes 

 him to be held, as it were, in reserve, un- 

 til some discoveries should supply us 

 with more satisfactory notions respecting 

 its nature. 



In various parts of Scotland, and of 

 France, in Tuscany, the Veronese, and 

 in North America, have been found the 

 fossil remains of some animal, which has 

 been supposed to be a variety f the 



VOL. V. 



urus of Julius Caesar, or of the bison. 

 But these horns, which are of very con- 

 siderable size, the bone of each horn ex- 

 ceeding two feet in length, appear to 

 have belonged to a different species of 

 animal from any which is at present 

 known. The observations which have 

 been made on these fossils, particularly 

 by the liberal and industrious Faujas St. 

 Fond, give great reason for believing 

 that two species of animals have existed, 

 bearing horns of this enormous magni- 

 tude. These remains are t'ound to exist 

 in Siberia along with the bones and horns 

 of the rhinoceros, with the bones and. 

 teeth of the mammouthean elephant of 

 Siberia. 



To the fossil remains already mention- 

 ed, may be added the animal incognitum 

 of Symore, in Languedoc ; the enormous 

 stag, found in the mosses of Ireland ; the 

 gigantic tapir, found at the bottom of the 

 black mountains of Languedoc ; the bears, 

 of two species, now unknown, found in 

 Bareith ; and the numerous animals of 

 unknown species which the admirably in- 

 defatigable Cuvier is perpetually discov- 

 ering, in that mine of fossils, the quarries 

 of gypsum, near Paris. 



Of the mineralized remains of man no 

 well attested instance is known. In a 

 cavern, indeed, in Mendip Hills, some 

 human bones have been found, invest- 

 ed with stalactite ; these appear to be 

 but comparatively of modern existence. 

 Scheuchzer published an essay describing 

 a supposed skeleton of a man ; which was 

 undoubtedly the remains of some large 

 fish. 



A view of the foregoing sketch cannot 

 but shew, that the study of this science 

 must prove a source of the highest grati- 

 fication to every mind that contemplates 

 the works of nature, for the purpose of 

 obtaining a glimpse of the beauty which 

 they display, and of the power \v!ncii 

 they manifest. By this science we ob- 

 tain, not only a knowledge of the peculiar 

 beings which dwelt on this planet in its 

 antediluvian state, but we also acquire a 

 more correct knowledge of the structure 

 of this globe itself. We at the same time 

 discover the strongest proofs of those 

 changes which it has suffered, and which 

 are recorded in the Holy Scriptures ; 

 whilst our reverential admiration is excited 

 at this wonderful display of the power 

 and providence of the Almighty creator. 



ORYZA, in botany, nee, a genus of the 

 Hexandria Digynia class and order. Na- 

 tural order of Gramina, Graminex, or 

 Grasses. Essential character: calyx glume 



