CHAPTER I.

THE SCOPE AND MATERIALS OF PALÆONTOLOGY.

The study of the rock-masses which constitute the crust of the
earth, if carried out in the methodical and scientific manner of
the geologist, at once brings us, as has been before remarked, in
contact with the remains or traces of living beings which formerly
dwelt upon the globe. Such remains are found, in greater or less
abundance, in the great majority of rocks; and they are not only of
great interest in themselves, but they have proved of the greatest
importance as throwing light upon various difficult problems in
geology, in natural history, in botany, and in philosophy. Their
study constitutes the science of palæontology; and though it is
possible to proceed to a certain length in geology and zoology
without much palæontological knowledge, it is hardly possible to
attain to a satisfactory general acquaintance with either of
these subjects without having mastered the leading facts of the
first. Similarly, it is not possible to study palæontology without
some acquaintance with both geology and natural history.

Palæontology, then, is the science which treats of the living
beings, whether animal or vegetable, which have inhabited the earth
during past periods of its history. Its object is to elucidate,
as far as may be, the structure, mode of existence, and habits
of all such ancient forms of life; to determine their position
in the scale of organised beings; to lay down the geographical