^ 



GIANTS AND PI0MIB8. 



we found a groat many tiny sheila of the Bhi»p3 of Fnum 

 contrurius, a Pteropod, not Gaateropod. Arriving at London 

 wo reached our centre at an early hour — wearied, but highly 

 grutifie*! with the day's excursion. 



39a i'rora London we would go to China. Our Museum 

 •collections enable us to perform this feat The contriVjutor is 

 Mr. John Graham, now of China, formerly of Halifax. We 

 would examine them in geological order. We have first 

 granites and coal. * According to the analogy of Egyptian 

 Geology wo regard the granites as of Archaean age, and the 

 coal as of doubtful age. Our first account of the granites 

 received from Mr. Graham was rather startling. He informed 

 us that there was a bridge in China having in its structure 

 blocks of graAite 75 feet in length. As he was informed that 

 I was rather incredulous ho had a photograph taken, which is 

 now in the Museum ; he also sent me specimens of granite. 

 This bridge is certainly in analogy with the structures of 

 Ancient Egypt. How the stones were brought into their 

 present position is certainly a Chinese puzzle. Our other 

 collections are fn^m the Island of Formosa. They are fossils — 

 one part of thorn are casts of shells in limestone. Their 

 general aspect is that of the fossils of the " Calcaire grossier 

 inferieur" of Paris. I regard them as of Eocene age. The 

 occurrence of nummulites in the Philippines and Japan seems 

 to harmonise with this view. The other fossils are flora and 

 mammalia of presumably later ages, to which we will subse- 

 quently direct special attention. Having made these observa- 

 tions we return to Montmartre, Paris. In No. 29, I referred 

 to the mammalian remains found in this locality. These 

 were discovered, disinterred, examined and described by the 

 * immortal Cuvier." The names of two are Palaeotherium 

 magnum and minus. They have been noticed in the menagerie 

 of the Sydenham Island. In Geological treatises they are 

 often figured. A recent discovery, however, shows that 

 Palaeotherium magnum, is not altogether what it was supposed 

 to be. According to the restoration it resembled a rhinoceros 

 without a horn and as large as a horse. It was considered to 





