330 0. 0, Marsh— History and Methods of 
Mediterranean, proved that its teeth were identical with some 
found fossil in Tuscany. He also compared the fossil shells 
found in Italy with existing species, and pointed out their 
Seerher een In the same work, Steno expressed some very 
mportant views in regard to the different kinds of strata, and 
their origin, and first placed on record the important fact that 
the oldest rocks contain no fossils. 
Scilla, the Sicilian painter, published in 1670 a work on the 
fossils of Calabria, well illustrated. He is very severe against. 
those who doubted the organic origin of fossils, but is inclined 
to consider them relies of the wae: deluge. 
Another instance of the power of the ara nature theory, 
at Saree” near Gotha, in _.: and was described by 
m Ernest Tentzel, a. cee in the Gotha Gymnasium. 
He Spelared the bones to be the remains of an print that had 
lived ee before. The Medical Faculty in Gotha, however, 
considered the subject, and decided officially that this specimen 
was only a freak o: ur 
Beside the authors I have mentioned, there were many 
others who wrote about peas remains before the close of the 
goer century, and took part in the general discussion as 
e 
pcilelictiet th ror sates the scholastic tendency to dspe 
tation, so prevalent uring the middle ages, had ¢ tributed 
se to the retardation of see: ons and yet a real advance 
in knowledge had been mad lon contest in regard to 
the nature of fossil nehaasty was ori over, for the more 
intelligent opinion at the time now acknow ledged that these 
objects were not mere “sports of nature,” but a once been 
endowed with life. At this point, therefore, the first period 
in the oS of Paleontology, as I have ‘dicated it, may 
apy tely 
+ is true that later still, the old exploded errors about the 
plastic force and fermentation were from time to time revi 
as the x have enon almost to the present day ; but lear? men, 
hteenth 
history of ithe agent beg 
