^88 Dr Fleming on the Influence of Society on the 
times, their conclusions would assume a more imposing charac- 
ter, but the accompanying labour would be greatly increased. 
In speculating on the affinities of recent events, the understand- 
ing is ever occupied with facts ; and the imagination, thus in 
trammels, dare not indulge in its licentious wanderings. But 
when remote events are the subjects of our contemplation, fancy 
becomes a valuable assistant, by reuniting disjointed links, sup- 
plying that which is wanting, and enabling the mind to arrive 
at conclusions, which, without the labour of investigation, had 
probably been long anticipated. 
In Britain, there are many individuals, possessed of much 
zeal and sagacity, who have long been directing their attention 
to those organic remains which occur in the different regularly 
stratified rocks, and many important facts in their history have 
been satisfactorily established. More recently, public attention 
has been excited, in a remarkable degree, by the accounts which 
have been communicated of those singular remains of quadru- 
peds and birds found in many limestone caves, and loose depo- 
sitions, which have been termed diluvial by several English mi- 
neralogists. These quadrupeds are supposed to have been de- 
stroyed by the last grand catastrophe that our planet has expe- 
rienced, and which, in the opinion of many, is identical with 
the deluge of Noah. At this point, the researches of the geo- 
logist have terminated ; and the truly interesting interval suc- 
ceeding that period, and extending to the present time, has been 
neglected as too recent for inquiry or speculation. To us, how- 
ever, it appears under a different aspect ; and we trust that the 
observations which follow, will, to a certain extent, justify the 
propriety of our views, and even excite others, who are placed 
in more favourable circumstances, to contribute to the illustra- 
tion of a subject, calculated to throw much light on the more 
ancient revolutions of our globe. 
Man, whether we view him as a savage or a citizen, is in- 
duced, by various motives, to carry on a destructive warfare 
against many animals, which he finds to be his fellow residents on 
the globe. If we consider him as supporting his savage charac- 
ter, we witness the chase of the graminivorous animals, entered 
upon as a measure of necessity to supply the cravings of his ap- 
petite, He observes their habits, their haunts, and their migra- 
