Part 37

The bones of small animals, mentioned by Esper, are now no longer met with; and, in the collections of Esper and Frischmann, Dr Goldfuss saw only a few dozen of the glutton (Gulo.) The contents of a peculiar conglomerate described by Esper, cannot now be determined. It consisted of a confused assemblage of very small bones, the fracture surfaces of which were fibrous, and contained also the thigh-bone and rib of a bird, which were conjectured to equal in size those of the eagle; hence Esper inferred that the mass was made up of the remains of reptile and fish bones.

No remains have hitherto been found in these caves; but in former times we are told that teeth of the elephant were found in the Zahnloch, and a vertebra, supposed, of a rhinoceros, in the Schneiderloch. The bones of domestic animals, such as deer, roes, foxes, and badgers, frequently found in the caves, shew, at a glance, that they have come into their present situation accidentally, at a modern period.

The cave at _Mockas_ formerly contained in its deepest fissures, teeth and fragments of bones of bears, associated with rolled stones, and enveloped in earthy marl. The entrance to this cave is situated on the acclivity of a hill. Goldfuss ascended to the entrance of it by means of a rope, and found in its interior many narrow, wide extended hollows, which are generally so confined that we can only visit them by creeping. Here and there there are small widenings, and frequently narrow outlets occur in the roof.

The _Zahnloch_ and the _Schneiderloch_, which also contain single bones of bears, are small vaults, with wide openings, into which we can penetrate without difficulty.

[437] The fact mentioned in the text brings to our recollection an interesting Memoir of Professor Walther, entitled, “On the Antiquity of diseases in Bones,” printed in Grasse and Walther’s Journal der Chirurgie und Augenheil Kunde, viii. From eleven specimens of bones of cave-bears found in the Caves of Sundwich, described by Walther, a proof is obtained, that the common forms of osseous diseases occur in them, just as they are observed at present in the human species, viz. necrosis, anchylosis, caries, exostosis, formation of new bony matter, thickening, thinning, and arthritic properties of diseased bones. Most of those diseases are such as would result from violent injuries, and the consequent very tedious organo-vital reaction. Such mechanical injuries would give rise to necrosis, caries, exostosis, &c. We can easily conceive, says Walther, how that the rapacious animals of a former world may have been exposed to violent mechanical injuries of their bodies, and of single parts of them. It is worthy of remark, that most of the diseased bones are of the lower jaw, the alveolar processes of it and the walls of single alveolæ. During the combats of the cave bears for their prey amongst themselves, or with other gigantic animals, the jaws and teeth must have experienced the greatest mechanical injuries. The necroses of the humeral bones are such as might result from a bruising of the bones, and the caries of the upper surface of the bodies of the lumbar vertebræ, may have been occasioned by external violence. Walther is also of opinion, that the cave-bears suffered from diseases of the bones not referrible to mechanical injuries. He remarks of a radius and a vertebra, whose arthritic condition he carefully describes, “These bones have experienced pathological changes, which could only arise from a long continued diseased condition of the nutritive process. They are very light, have an extremely thin crust, the greater part of their mass is of a spongy, very porous substance, and are uncommonly fragile. Such a change could not be produced by any external mechanical injury, nor by any slight action of the weather; but must proceed from a tedious constitutional disease, connected with a total change of the organo-forming plastic activity, and proceeding from a peculiar dyscrasia.” Hence it is probable, these cave-bears even suffered from gout, scrophula, and other similar diseases.

[438] According to Laugier, in 100 parts of the earth in which the bones in the caves of Gaylenreuth are imbedded, he found the following proportional quantity of constituent parts:

1. Lime, with a little magnesia, in the state of carbonate, 32.0 2. Carbonic acid and moisture, 24.0 3. Phosphate of lime, 21.5 4. Animal matter and water, 10.0 5. Alumina slightly coloured with manganese, 4.0 6. Silica coloured with iron, 4.0 7. Oxide of iron, probably combined with phosphoric acid, 3.5 8. Loss, 1.0 ----- 100.0

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

There are several references to both ‘De Luc’ and ‘Deluc’; these refer to the same person, and have not been changed.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

Pg vi: ‘gradual developement’ replaced by ‘gradual development’. Pg xxi: ‘Zodaical’ replaced by ‘Zodiacal’. Pg xxii: ‘Horse, 288’ replaced by ‘Horse, 285’. Pg 3: ‘of the Peleponnesus’ replaced by ‘of the Peloponnesus’. Pg 21: ‘formations, aud’ replaced by ‘formations, and’. Pg 58: ‘lama, the vicuna’ replaced by ‘llama, the vicuna’. Pg 68: ‘large qradupeds’ replaced by ‘large quadrupeds’. Pg 74: ‘Three several’ replaced by ‘Three separate’. Pg 78: was incorrectly labelled as ‘87’ in the original book. Pg 80: ‘lama, the vicunna’ replaced by ‘llama, the vicuna’. Pg 84: ‘corrrespond, and’ replaced by ‘correspond, and’. Pg 112: ‘that the fosil’ replaced by ‘that the fossil’. Pg 138: ‘by the Phenicians’ replaced by ‘by the Phœnicians’. Pg 149: ‘a very reremote’ replaced by ‘a very remote’. Pg 155: ‘the Bramins, and’ replaced by ‘the Brahmins, and’. Pg 172: was incorrectly labelled as ‘146’ in the original book. Pg 211: ‘even admiting’ replaced by ‘even admitting’. Pg 212: ‘Zodaical’ replaced by ‘Zodiacal’. Pg 212: ‘1_{s}’ (subscript s) replaced by ‘1^s’ (superscript s). Pg 222: ‘double suppositon’ replaced by ‘double supposition’. Pg 225: ‘found bebetween’ replaced by ‘found between’. Pg 227: missing anchor for Footnote [226] inserted after ‘at that period’. Pg 249 Table: the duplicate headings ‘Transition Formations’ and ‘Primitive Formations’ have been removed from the last two blocks of the table. Pg 263: ‘named it _Iquanodon_’ replaced by ‘named it _Iguanodon_‘. Pg 263: missing anchor for Footnote [261] inserted after ‘_Iguanodon_‘. Pg 279: ‘whereever our ancient’ replaced by ‘wherever our ancient’. Pg 280: ‘or anaplothæria,’ replaced by ‘or anaplotheria,’. Pg 302: ‘of Bufffon’ replaced by ‘of Buffon’. Pg 360: ‘is very obsure’ replaced by ‘is very obscure’. Pg 361: ‘Letters sur l’Histoire’ replaced by ‘Lettres sur l’Histoire’. Pg 367: ‘islands of Pelworm’ replaced by ‘islands of Pellworm’. Pg 374: ‘of Maviston’ replaced by ‘of Mavieston’. Pg 378: ‘Great Britian’ replaced by ‘Great Britain’. Pg 379: ‘sands of Barrey’ replaced by ‘sands of Barray’. Pg 385: ‘breaks of in’ replaced by ‘breaks off in’. Pg 401: ‘1770’ replaced by ‘1700’. Pg 461: ‘a slop of even’ replaced by ‘a slope of even’. Pg 475: ‘sol d crust’ replaced by ‘solid crust’. Pg 476: ‘it of contributiug’ replaced by ‘it of contributing’. Pg 493: ‘with the\nPalm,’ replaced by ‘with the Palm’. Pg 506 Table: the heading ‘HEAD.’ has been inserted at the top of column 1. Pg 522: ‘various corridores’ replaced by ‘various corridors’. Pg 541: ‘crosses the torent’ replaced by ‘crosses the torrent’. Pg 547 Table: this multipage Table has been split into three parts. The right-hand column ‘OBSERVATIONS’ with four entries has been replaced by four Notes (a) to (d) below the Table. Pg 549: Note (d); ‘the fissil rocks’ replaced by ‘the fossil rocks’. Pg 550 Table: this wide Table has been split into two parts. The right-hand column ‘OBSERVATIONS’ with a single entry has been replaced by a Note (a) below the Table.

Pg 24 Footnote [7]: ‘Geschechte der Natürliche’ replaced by ‘Geschichte der Natürlichen’. Pg 62 Footnote [34]: ‘on the Hippopatamus’ replaced by ‘on the Hippopotamus’. Pg 65 Footnote [56]: ‘describes the chace’ replaced by ‘describes the chase’. Pg 136 Footnote [110]: ‘the peat-moses of’ replaced by ‘the peat-mosses of’. Pg 144 Footnote [119]: ‘principal Phenician’ replaced by ‘principal Phœnician’. Pg 291 Footnote [334]: ‘458’ replaced by ‘p. 458’. Pg 351 Footnote [355]: Some adjustments have been made to the Greek quotation, after checking with external sources. Pg 510 Footnote [431]: ‘been found some’ replaced by ‘been found in some’.

There is a reference to ‘Note K’ and ‘Note N’ and ‘Note O’, but they do not exist. ‘Note J’ does not exist and has no reference to it.

End of Project Gutenberg's Essay on the Theory of the Earth, by Georges Cuvier