Reviews and Extracts.—Katurat History. 
183 
terrestrial, and many were inhabitants of the lakes and rivers. The animal and 
vegetable remains with which the fos.sil hones are associated, belong also to a very 
different order of things, from that in which the modern oviparous quadrupeds ore 
placed^ and we are compelled to conclude, that the condition of the earth, at the pe¬ 
riod it was peopled by reptiles, must have been very different from its present state; 
and that it probably was then unfit for the habitation of animals of a more perfect 
organization. It is moreover, interesting to remark, that some of these ancient and 
lost races are, us it were, the types of the existing orders, and genera; and that 
in the pigmy Monitor and Iguana of modern times, we perceive striking resem¬ 
blances to the colossal Megalosaurus and Iguanodon of the ancient world. It is 
also worthy of observation, that, as in the present epoch, the herbivorous quadru¬ 
peds are those of the greatest magnitude, so, at the period when reptiles were 
the principal inhabitants of our planet, the herbivorous were those of the most 
gigantic proportions. The geological period when the existence of reptiles com¬ 
menced, must, according to the present state of our knowledge, be placed imme¬ 
diately after the formation of the coal measures; the remains of Monitors having 
been found in the bituminous state of Thu.ingia; and those of a crocodile, in 
the gypseous red sandstone of England; but it is not till we arrive at the Lias, that 
^he remains of reptiles occur in any considerable quantity. At that period the 
earth must have teemed with oviparous quadrupeds, and the Enaliosauri, or those 
which inhabited the sea, appear to have been equally numerous with those of the 
land and rivers. The prodigious quantity of the remains of these animals, which 
lias, within a comparatively short period, been found in England alone, is truly 
astonishing*; and if to these, we add the immense numbers that have been disco¬ 
vered in France, Germany, &c., and reflect, that for one individual found in a 
fossil state, thousands must have been devoured and decomposed ; and that even of 
those that are fossilized, the number that comes under the notice of the naturalist, 
must be trilling compared with the quantities unobserved or destroyed by the 
labourers, we shall have a faint idea of the myriads of “creeping things” which 
inhabited the ancient world. 
3.— Magazine of Natural History; Edited by J. C. Loudon, 
F.L.S. &c. Published every two months, price Ss.6d. 
No. 21, FOR August. 
Has much interesting information, but our limits, this month, prevent us from 
making any Extracts, except tire following;— 
Fdrerunner of Foul fFeather .—It may be a useful piece of information for 
Agriculturists, or those concerned in getting in their crops, on the approach¬ 
ing season, to describe the appearance of a small cloud, which, from its rapid 
formation and disappearance, is likely to escape the observation of most 
persons, but which, from my own experience, I have found a very faithful 
forewarner of foul weather. It appears mostly in the mild weather of spring, 
summer, and autumn, when its warning token becomes most acceptable. I 
will endeavour to describe it in the best manner 1 can;—It is a small, deli¬ 
cately soft, thin, white, curved cloud, formed suddenly on the summit of 
those fine heaped clouds, termed emmdi^ which often prevail in warm wea¬ 
ther, and appear to tower up to a prodigious height. It is necessary to keep a 
watchful eye upon the summit of the cumulus.^ when this little film which I 
term the “storm-cap” appears; it lies closely over the rounded summit, like 
a silken web; in a very few seconds it will disappear ; sinking, I suppose into 
the cumulus-, but in a little time, and when heavy, foul weather threatens, the 
