14 KAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



different remains of European vessels that had been 

 shipwrecked within the last few years. It is, there- 

 fore, evident that the formation of these marine 

 rocks of Guadaloupe is proceeding with great rapi- 

 dity, for their whole mass, although of considerable 

 extent, belongs exclusively to the present geological 

 epoch. The bones and debris of every kind which 

 are found there cannot, therefore, be regarded as 

 fossils, since this expression is limited to those or- 

 ganic remains which are contemporaneous with pre- 

 ceding geological epochs ; and hence it may be said 

 that in our day, no less than in the time of Cuvier, a 

 true fossil man is a discovery that still remains to 

 be made. 



Notwithstanding the unexpected difficulty which 

 the agglutination of the stones threw in the way of 

 our researches, our sojourn in the peninsula of 

 Milazzo was productive of much enjoyment to all of 

 us. The daily increasing heat seemed to give rise to a 

 marvellous development of life, both on the land and 

 on the sea. Thousands of insects, many of which 

 had never found a place in our zoological catalogues, 

 were swarming over the fields and woods, and 

 M. Blanchard found no difficulty in filling several 

 cases with numerous and curious specimens. Some 

 living reptiles, too, were caught and added to our col- 

 lections, and they still constitute a portion of the spe- 

 cial menagerie which was established at the museum 

 by MM. Dumeril and Bibron. We collected, amongst 

 others, two large black snakes, which were perfectly 

 harmless, notwithstanding their formidable appear- 

 ance ; and some fine specimens of the Guecko, an ani- 



