JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 57 
Chaldean myths, viz., “The Creation,” “The Deluge” and its 
““ Ark” (which was of smaller dimensions than a modern steamer), 
have lost their hold on many of the faithful followers of Orthodoxy. 
They no longer believe to be true what they know to be false. This 
was a definition ot ‘‘ Faith” recently by a boy at a public examina- 
tion ofhisclassin England. “Itisseen” the Doctor states, ‘“ that the 
most perfect of every species are the first ones.” The writer may 
allude later on to earlier forms of life, but his present intention is to 
prove how completely mistaken he has been in such an opinion. 
Compare, for instance, the earliest known Cambrian and Silurian 
Alexactinelid sponge with the Venus Flower-basket ( 2up/ectel/a) 
of the present day. I need not put the question to any member 
of this Section. Again, take the Star-fishes. The writer obtained 
twelve from the lower Silurian of Anticosti and the May Hill (Clin- 
tons) of Ontario. Some were in good preservation. All were 
stunted in growth, the largest of the lot merely a few lines across. In 
one of the family (Pateasteria Jamesi), figured by Dana from the 
Cincinnati group, you may notice a marked improvement, but the 
Star-fishes only reached (like several other organisms) their culmin- 
ation in modern days. There was, as every palzeontologist knows, 
elevation as well as degradation of species. In a lecture on “ Per- 
sistent Types of Life,” the late Professor Huxley pointed out, while 
some formis attained their climatic tens of thousands of years ago and 
perished, others persevered and without advancing in any material 
respect are alive to this day. The mystery remains unsolved. 
It has been remarked that text-books on Geology, which were 
issued a little more than ten years ago, require revision ; it is a pro- 
gressive Science, and more knowledge of it has been acquired during 
the past quarter of a century than for more than double the time. 
Old publications on the subject are obsolete and misleading. If Dr. 
Grant could procure a work by Prof. Schuchert on “The Evolution 
of the Brachiopods ” (issued by the United States Geological Survey), 
he may see how much he is mistaken regarding a class once more 
numerous than at present. A short time since the writer called the 
attention of the Geological Section of the Hamilton Scientific Asso- 
ciation to a communication from E. Billings, palzeontologist of the 
Canadian Survey, in which he stated that many of the early forms of 
life appeared to him to partake of a double or two-fold nature. I 
