THE SCIENTIST. 
71 
at rest or appiirentl}^ inactive is, after all, 
held ill the powerful grasp of tlie Uni- 
verse and is active in its fulfillment of 
the law of rest. 
Life-motion in all stages of develop- 
ment is the result of curiously inter-de- 
pendent forces from without. The Diatom 
as a miniature Animar (?) has positive 
niovements which depend upon few 
known conditions. One is, it moves 
when in contact with some lai-ger body 
than itself, as if dependent upon the 
magnetic, chemical, or other influences 
or forms inherent in its larger neighbor, 
Possibly its movements are due to a .set 
of invisible cilia, delicately operated by 
some indefinable power, but then only in 
such insrances when alone and at will in 
t!ie field for action. Perhaps the cause 
of motion on the part of these sm.all 
creatures is hardly definable. And may 
it not be far from plain why motion 
exists in any of the forms of Life? The 
fact that these creatures multiply by 
subdivision, conjugation and spore-form- 
ation, is suggestive of an activity which 
lies so deeply within the recesses of 
tlie Infinite that our dull intellects may 
but faintly guess the cause of it all. 
'I'o change abruptly to another phase 
of the subject: Birds, in flight, afford 
infinitely varying lines of motion. How 
birds fly, and why they 1\y, are as yet 
not very clearly understood. I have just 
time to instance an experiment. lam 
almost tempted to invent a lie to avoid 
telling the cniel truth in this experiment. 
I captured a full-grown "Yellow Ham- 
mer" and amputated his legs just below 
the knee joints. I then tossed him into 
the air and watched his vigorous and 
easy flight with some surprise. Presently 
he came to the ground. Upon my ap- 
proach he attempted to rise. This was 
impossible, as the one thing needed was 
the spring necessary to carry the body past 
the lowest pitch of the wings, or at least 
past that line requisite to a second lift- 
ing-stroke. This could not be accomp- 
lished without the legs. Here it is again. 
Life-motion depends upon force from 
without, and the presence of perfect con- 
ditions, and the absence of all physical 
ills and moral infirmities; there is a 
wide sense in which the soul will swing 
into the infinitely perfect rythm of the 
Universe and will catch the lofty cadenc- 
es of the stars, and sink to rest in the 
ceaseless motion of God's unending 
Kingdom . 
Fou THE Scientist. 
Fossil Collecting in the Burlini^ton 
Limestone. 
By R. R. Rowley, Cuuryville, Mo. 
Of the different series of rocks referr- 
ed to the Sub-carboniferous strata of 
the Mississippi Valley, the Burlington 
Limestone is, perhaps, the most inter- 
esting to the intelligent collector, not 
that its fossil treasures are more perfect- 
ly preserved or more abundant in indi- 
viduals than the Keokuk or Chester div- 
isions, but from the diversity of its Cri- 
noidal remains and the great number of 
species of Echinoderras. The collector 
is always happening on something new, 
and his artistic eye is in constant rap- 
ture over the beautiful and ever chang- 
ing sculpture of the calyx plates of the 
Actinocrinoids and the granular orna- 
mentation of the Blastoids. 
With the exception of a few species of 
Echinoderms, the number of individuals 
are few, and when one picks up a dupli- 
cate he feels that it is an accident, never 
knowing when he starts for the quarry 
just what he will find, unless he has un- 
erringly located the Melo, Norwood! or 
some other well marked horizon. 
For ten years, the writer has searched 
for a perfect specimen of a Tricoelocrinus^ 
an imperfect example of which he found 
years ago, but up to date the search has 
been fruitless. It may turn up unexpect- 
edly some day, an agreeable surprise. 
