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babilem esse conjecturam illorum haud levibus suffultam ratiociniis, qui 
belemnitas prussicas omnes, proprie lyncuriorum nomine insignitos, 
pro radiis animalium marinorum hactenus incognitorum reputant: quas 
animalia, si non ad classem echinorum pertinerent, proxime tamen ad 
echinos accederent ; nec deessent rationes, qua3 difficultates a cavitati- 
bus conicis, rimis alveolisque petitas sufficienter removerent ; et quEeso, 
quid turn amplius obstaret, quin omnes Belemnitce, Radii, vel JEchi- 
norum vel similium animalium marinorum forent ! In praesenti pro- 
positi nostri non est, aliorum causam agere : nobis incumbit ut claviculis, 
quas laeves nuncupamus, patrocinemur, ita ut vix sufficiens ratio dis- 
sentientium appareat, ob quam illse a radiorum echinitorum familia 
removeantur, et Belemnitarum classe inscribantur.” De Acul. Me kin. 
p. 54. He then proceeds to show, that among the dactyliform bodies, 
assumed to be belemnites, there are some, one of the extremities of 
which would apply exactly on the papillary protuberance of an echinus ; 
and quotes the authority of Rumphius for the fact of the pallisadoe-like 
spines, scattered on the sea-shore, passing into a spathose substance. 
It is with much pleasure that I find myself able, not only to confirm 
the observations made by Klein, but to point out the probable cir- 
cumstance on which the perplexing ambiguity with respect to these 
bodies has depended. It appears, that the original matter of the palli- 
sadoe-like echinal spine, and that of the belemnite, are both of such 
a nature, that on impregnation with a fluid holding carbonate of lime, 
in solution, they become a spathose substance, similar in colour and 
in form of crystallization : — a fact which, I trust, will be found to 
assist very much in making out the original nature of that curious 
substance, the belemnite. 
The echinital spines which are found in chalk, are known by the 
chalk-diggers by the names of files, and chalk bottles : by the former, 
are meant the striated and prolonged cucurmerine claviculce ; and 
by the latter, those which are of an olive form. The belemnites have 
also, from early times, been distinguished by them as pencils. About 
two years since, among the chalk fossils which I had obtained from 
