. The testimony of the rocks; . irstony arms by the amazing number of the pieces of whichthey were composed, and the nice disposition of the the Pentacrinites of the Secondary period (see Fig. 97)an immense spread of arms, about a thousand in number,and composed of about a hundred thousand separate pieces,had all the flexibility, though formed of solid lime, of adrift of nets, and yet were so nicely jointed, tooth fittinginto tooth in all their numerous parts, and the whole sobound together by ligament, that, with all the flexibihty,they had also all the toughness and tenacity, of pi
. The testimony of the rocks; . irstony arms by the amazing number of the pieces of whichthey were composed, and the nice disposition of the the Pentacrinites of the Secondary period (see Fig. 97)an immense spread of arms, about a thousand in number,and composed of about a hundred thousand separate pieces,had all the flexibility, though formed of solid lime, of adrift of nets, and yet were so nicely jointed, tooth fittinginto tooth in all their numerous parts, and the whole sobound together by ligament, that, with all the flexibihty,they had also all the toughness and tenacity, of pieces ofthread network. •Human ingenuity, with the same purposesto eifect, that is, the sweeping of shoals of swimminganimals into a central receptacle, would probably constructa somewhat similar machine; but it would take half a life-time to execute one equally elaborate. ox THE TWO TIILOLOGIES, 245 In carefully examining, for purposes of restoration, someof the earliest ganoidal fishes, I was not a little impressed Fig. 97.*. PENTACRTNUS FASCICULOSITS. (Lias.) * a, Articulating surface of joint, b, Fragment of column, exhibitinglaterally the tooth processes, so fitted into each other as to admit of21* 246 GEOLOGY IN ITS BEARINGS by the peculiar mecliamcal contrivances exhibited in theirlargely developed dermal skeletons. In some cases thesecontrivances were sufficiently simple, resembling those whichwe find exemplified in the humbler trades, originated incomparatively mi enlightened ages ; and yet their simplicityhad but the effect of rendering the peculiarly human castof the mind exhibited in their production all the moreobAdous. The bony scales which covered fishes such as theOsteolepis and Diplopterus of the Old Red Sandstone, or Fig. 98.
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