INTRODUCTION 17 



ages of research, which resulted in the formation of 

 national museums. The first expedition was sent forth 

 by George III. of England, in 1765. Reaumur (1683- 

 1757) made the earliest zoological collection in France; 

 and the West Indian collections of Sir Hans Sloane 

 (1660-1752) were the nucleus of the British Museum. 

 The accumulation of specimens suggested comparisons, 

 which eventually resulted in the highest advance of the 

 science. 



The brilliant style of Buffon (1707-1788) made Zool- 

 ogy popular, not only in France, but throughout Europe. 

 While the genius of Linnaeus led to classification, that 

 of Buffon lay in description. He was the first to call 

 attention to the subject of Distribution. Lamarck 

 (1745-1829) of Paris was the next great light. The 

 publication of his " Animaux sans Vertebres," in 1801, 

 was an epoch in the history of the lower animals. He 

 was also the first prominent advocate of .the transmuta- 

 tion of species. 



But the brightest luminary in Zoology was George 

 Cuvier (1769-1832), a German, born on French soil. 

 Before his time " there was no great principle of classi- 

 fication. Facts were accumulated, and more or less sys- 

 tematized, but they were not yet arranged according to 

 law ; the principle was still wanting by which to gen- 

 eralize them and give meaning and vitality to the 

 whole." It was Cuvier who found the key. He was 

 the first so to interpret structure as to be able from the 

 inspection of one bone to reconstruct the entire animal, 

 and assign its position. His anatomical investigations 

 revealed the natural affinities of animals, and led to 

 the grand generalization, that the most comprehensive 

 groups in the kingdom were based, not on special char- 

 acters, but on different plans of structure. Palissy had 

 long ago (1580) asserted that petrified shells were of 

 DODGE'S GEN. ZOOL. 2 



