Our planet, its past and future; or, Lectures on geology . , with a foot fifteen incheslong, having a heel nearly as large as a horses hoof, andarmed v/ith a stout sj)ur. Some of the impressions of insects are so fine, thai ON 01 t^ey roquire a inai^iiifying glass to bring tliem nutdistinctly. Certain of these impressions, which were regarded asnndoubted bird-tracks, prove to have been made bysome remarkal)le quadruf)ed. I called upon ProfessorHitchcock during his last illness, and found him in bed,propped up with pillows; while upon the flot)r bt(t)iohim was a slab contain
Our planet, its past and future; or, Lectures on geology . , with a foot fifteen incheslong, having a heel nearly as large as a horses hoof, andarmed v/ith a stout sj)ur. Some of the impressions of insects are so fine, thai ON 01 t^ey roquire a inai^iiifying glass to bring tliem nutdistinctly. Certain of these impressions, which were regarded asnndoubted bird-tracks, prove to have been made bysome remarkal)le quadruf)ed. I called upon ProfessorHitchcock during his last illness, and found him in bed,propped up with pillows; while upon the flot)r bt(t)iohim was a slab containing a number of the eo-calledbird-tracks. The tracks of what every one mightregard as a bird with three toes, the foot three or fourinches long, were plainly visible on one portion of theslab. But, on following the tracks along, the animal hadrested; and tliere was the impression of its long heels,making its track sixteen inches long; while in fi-ont ofthem were marks made by small fore-feet that had justtouched the ground, while behind was a spot on tho. AnoiiKcptis major. slab where the tail had rested. Fig. 18 represents aportion of this slab,, which is now in the ichnologiculcabinet at Amherst. Tf a bird, then, it had four feet, 11 162 LECTURES ON and a tail like a lizard. And what kind of a bird couldthat be? Professor Ilitchcock said, that, in his opiiiioUisome of the tracks were made by four-footed birdshaving some resemblance to mammals ; while othersAvere made by batrachian, or frog-birds, lie says in onepublished statement, • I must believe that these animalscombined characters now found distributed among bird>,lizards, batrachians, and perhaps mammalia. Only by slow degrees did life mount and fly. Proneon the water at first it lay, or crawled upon the ground;then, elevated slightly above it, the first reptiles fore-feet then were elevated, and tJio hind-feetalone were employed for progression. The fore-feetbecame small by disuse ; and it is n
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