GENERAL CHARACTER OF ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 73 



period was fossil. It has been proved that the existence 

 of man is far more ancient; that species and races which 

 surrounded the cradle of mankind have become extinct; 

 hence that they, like the Mammoth, for example, are 

 fossil to us only, and not to our diluvial forefathers; 

 while many other animal forms which existed before man 

 have been preserved till now. On the whole, from the 

 Tertiary period forwards, the herbivorous Mammals pre- 

 cede the CarnivoTa. The monkeys appear only shortly 

 before man. 



Notwithstanding many gaps in the paljeontological 

 record, the progress of development is manifest in the 

 organic world, including the vegetal kingdom. No fossil 

 animal controverts the system. On the contrary, the 

 most varied adjustments and accommodations are af- 

 forded by the antediluvian animals. If, for instance, the 

 present Pachyderms are sharply distinguished from the 

 Ruminants, an unbroken bridge between them is estab- 

 lished by the extinct forms. If the present time shows us 

 only single scattered genera of the Edentata, the Diluvial 

 period exhibits a considerable number under far more 

 heterogeneous forms. Thus in the types as in the divi- 

 sions of the classes, the system advances from the older 

 to the more recent periods ; while the more ancient groups 

 gradually increase and then diminish, as newer, more 

 perfectly or specifically integrated forms, are interposed. 

 The former either vanish entirely or outlast the more 

 recent periods and continue in scanty remnants down to 

 the present day. The formations mostly have their char- 

 acteristic organisms, but almost everywhere the connect- 

 ing links have been exhibited. Everything conduces to 

 show that it is a question of evolution, not revolution. 



