Show 14j STUD EXT LITE and planum a work nil the fossil holies of the world From here he went to Paris then the Mecca of all naturalists and became acquainted with Cuvier and Humboldt Through the inlluence of these powerful friends he was appointed to the professorship of natural history in the Academy of Xeufchatel in Switzerland Thi period was dotined to sec hi mot valuable contributions to Ncience That he was lwrn to greatness wa already apparent his wonderful ability to grasp facts to master detail to arrange and systematize coupled with a most retentive memory that enabled him to hold all before him at once marked him a genius lint he possessed the common failing of genius: business methods were to him a tiling unknown His mind was full of great plans of vast enterprises that would have staggered the confidence of a more cautious man To plan great things and trust to the future for means to carry them out was the history of his life: and such was his enthusiasm his whole-soule- d gener- o' osity and disinterestedness his confidence and his personal magnetism that means were often providil ed During this period he completed his greatest work “The Fossil bislies in five volumes containing 1700 pages and 400 plates This work alone would have placed him among the very first naturalists of the day lie also completed his “Xomeiiclator Zoologicus an alphabetical list of everv gvntis that had been used in zoology giving the author the family and the reference some 17000 in all This was an almost thankless piece of drudgery but one that only a person of exceptional knowledge and command of literature could undertake and an absolutely indispensable-booto every working naturalist Me also worked on the Fchino-derm- s publishing a synopsis and later a monograph of the group being assisted in the latter work by several scientists Karly in this period the theory was propounded that the Alpine glaciers moved He did not believe this and began to study them to disprove it He soon discovered his mistake hut being interested went on studying them and soon propounded a still more startling theory — that the whole northern region had once been covered with ice This provoked a storm of opposition despite which he continued his studies for six years lie visited Kngland and Scotland and studied ice action there As a result he published two papers in which he set forth the glacial theory somewhat crude and imperfect from his lack of knowledge of physical and geological forces but in general outline the theory we hold today This in fact is the one great deduction which he himself emphasized that has stood the test 1 is classification of time of the fishes although a marked advance on former systems and one that served him well has now given place to more scientific ones 1 |