464 
EECAPITULATION. 
Chap. XIY. 
strata must somewliere have been deposited at these 
ancient and utterly unknown epochs in the world’s 
history. 
I can answer these questions and grave objections 
only on the supposition that the geological record is far 
more imperfect than most geologists believe. It cannot 
be objected that there has not been time sufficient for 
any amount of organic change ; for the lapse of time 
has been so great as to be utterly inappreciable by the 
human intellect. The number of specimens in all our 
museums is absolutely as nothing compared with the 
countless generations of countless species which certainly 
have existed. We should not be able to recognise a 
species as the parent of any one or more species if we 
were to examine them ever so closely, unless we like¬ 
wise possessed many of the intermediate links between 
their past or parent and present states ; and these many 
links we could hardly ever expect to discover, owing to 
the imperfection of the geological record. Numerous 
existing doubtful forms could be named which are pro¬ 
bably varieties; but who will pretend that in future 
ages so many fossil links will be discovered, that natu¬ 
ralists will be able to decide, on the common view, 
whether or not these doubtful forms are varieties ? As 
long as most of the links between any two species are 
unknown, if any one link or intermediate variety be dis¬ 
covered, it will simply be classed as another and distinct 
species. Only a small portion of the world has been 
geologically explored. Only organic beings of certain 
classes can be preserved in a fossil condition, at least 
in any great number. Widely ranging species vary 
most, and varieties are often at first local,—both causes 
rendering the discovery of intermediate links less likely. 
Local varieties will not spread into other and distant 
regions until they are considerably modified and im- 
