ENTRECASTEAUX

entrecasteaux, joseph-antoine bruni d' (1739-1793), french navigator, was born at aix in 1739. at the age of fifteen he entered the navy. in the war of 1778 he commanded a frigate of thirty-two guns, and by his clever seamanship was successful in convoying a fleet of merchant vessels from marseilles to the levant, although they were attacked by two pirate vessels, each of which was larger than his own ship. in 1785 he was appointed to the command of the french fleet in the east indies, and two years later he was named governor of the mauritius and the isle of bourbon. while in command of the east india fleet he made a voyage to china, an achievement which, in 1791, led the french government to select him to command an expedition which it was sending out to seek some tidings of the unfortunate la perouse, of whom nothing had been heard since february 1788. rear-admiral d'entrecasteaux's expedition comprised the "recherche" and "l'esperance," with captain huon de kermadec as second in command. no tidings were obtained of the missing navigator, but in the course of his search entrecasteaux made important geographical discoveries. he traced the outlines of the eastern coast of new caledonia, made extensive surveys round the tasmanian coast, and touched at several places on the south coast of new holland. the two ships entered storm bay, tasmania, on the 21st of april 1792, and remained there until the 16th of may, surveying and naming the d'entrecasteaux channel, the entrances to the huon and derwent rivers, bruni island, recherche bay, port esperance and various other localities. excepting the name of the river derwent (originally called riviere du nord by its french discoverers), these foregoing appellations have been retained. leaving tasmania the expedition sailed northward for the east indies, and while coasting near the island of java, entrecasteaux was attacked by scurvy and died on the 20th of july 1793. entre minho e douro (popularly called _minho_), a former province of northern portugal; bounded on the n. by galicia in spain, e. by traz-os-montes, s. by beira and w. by the atlantic ocean. pop. (1900) 1,170,361; area 2790 sq. m. though no longer officially recognized, the old provincial name remains in common use. the coast-line of entre minho e douro is level and unbroken except by the estuaries of the main rivers; inland, the elevation gradually increases towards the north and east, where several mountain ranges mark the frontier. of these, the most important are the serra da peneda (4728 ft.), between the rivers minho and limia; the serra do gerez (4357 ft.), on the galician border; the serra da cabreira (4021 ft.), immediately to the south; and the serra de marao (4642 ft.), in the extreme south-east. as its name implies, the province is bounded by two great rivers, the douro (q.v.) on the south, and the minho (spanish _mino_) on the north; but a small tract of land south of the douro estuary is included also within the provincial boundary. there are three other large rivers which, like the minho, flow west-south-west into the atlantic. the limia or antela (spanish _linia_) rises in galicia, and reaches the sea at vianna do castello; the cavado springs from the southern foot hills of la raya seca, on the northern frontier of traz-os-montes, and forms, at its mouth, the small harbour of espozende; and the ave descends from its sources in the serra da cabreira to villa do conde, where it enters the atlantic. a large right-hand tributary of the douro, the tamega, rises in galicia, and skirts the western slopes of the serra de marao. the climate is mild, except among the mountains, and such plants as heliotrope, fuchsias, palms, and aloes thrive in the open throughout the year. wheat and maize are grown on the plains, and other important products are wine, fruit, olives and chestnuts. fish abound along the coast and in the main rivers; timber is obtained from the mountain forests, and dairy-farming and the breeding of pigs and cattle are carried on in all parts. as the province is occupied by a hardy and industrious peasantry, and the density of population (419.5 per sq. m.) is more than twice that of any other province on the portuguese mainland, the soil is very closely cultivated. the methods and implements of the farmers are, however, most primitive, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was not unusual to see a mule, or even a woman, harnessed with the team of oxen to an old-fashioned wooden plough. small quantities of coal, iron, antimony, lead and gold are mined; granite and slate are quarried; and there are mineral springs at moncao (pop. 2283) on the minho. the oporto-corunna railway traverses the western districts and crosses the spanish frontier at tuy; its branch lines give access to braga, guimaraes and povoa de varzim; and the oporto-salamanca railway passes up the douro valley. the greater part of the north and west can only be reached by road, and even the chief highways are ill-kept. in these regions the principal means of transport is the springless wooden cart, drawn by one or more of the tawny and under-sized but powerful oxen, with immense horns and elaborately carved yoke, which are characteristic of northern portugal. for administrative purposes the province is divided into three districts: vianna do castello in the north, braga in the centre, oporto in the south. the chief towns are separately described; they include oporto (167,955), one of the greatest wine-producing cities in the world; braga (24,202), the seat of an archbishop who is primate of portugal; the seaports of povoa de varzim (12,623) and vianna do castello (9990); and guimaraes (9104), a place of considerable historical interest. entrepot (a french word, from the lat. _interpositum_, that which is placed between), a storehouse or magazine for the temporary storage of goods, provisions, &c.; also a place where goods, which are not allowed to pass into a country duty free, are stored under the superintendence of the custom house authorities till they are re-exported. in a looser sense, any town which has a considerable distributive trade is called an _entrepot_. the word is also used attributively to indicate the kind of trade carried on in such towns. entre rios (span. "between rivers"), a province of the eastern argentine republic, forming the southern part of a region sometimes described as the argentine mesopotamia, bounded n. by corrientes, e. by uruguay with the uruguay river as the boundary line, s. by buenos aires and w. by santa fe, the parana river forming the boundary line with these two provinces. pop. (1895) 292,019; (1905, est.) 376,600. the province has an area of 28,784 sq. m., consisting for the most part of an undulating, well-watered and partly-wooded plain, terminating in a low, swampy district of limited extent in the angle between the two great rivers. the great forest of monteil occupies an extensive region in the n., estimated at nearly one-fifth the area of the province. its soil is exceptionally fertile and its climate is mild and healthy. the province is sometimes called the "garden of argentina," which would probably be sufficiently correct had its population devoted as much energy to agriculture as they have to political conflict and civil war. its principal industry is that of stock-raising, exporting live cattle, horses, hides, jerked beef, tinned and salted meats, beef extract, mutton and wool. its agricultural products are also important, including wheat, indian corn, barley and fruits. lime, gypsum and firewood are also profitable items in its export trade. the parana and uruguay rivers provide exceptional facilities for the shipment of produce and the entre rios railways, consisting of a trunk line running e. and w. across the province from parana to concepcion del uruguay and several tributary branches, afford ample transportation facilities to the ports. another railway line follows the uruguay from concordia northward into corrientes. entre rios has been one of the most turbulent of the argentine provinces, and has suffered severely from political disorder and civil war. comparative quiet reigned from 1842 to 1870 under the autocratic rule of gen. j.j. urquiza. after his assassination in 1870 these partizan conflicts were renewed for two or three years, and then the province settled down to a life of comparative peace, followed by an extraordinary development in her pastoral and agricultural industries. among these is the slaughtering and packing of beef, the exportation of which has reached large proportions. the capital is parana, though the seat of government was originally located at concepcion del uruguay, and was again transferred to that town during urquiza's domination. concepcion del uruguay, or concepcion (founded 1778), is a flourishing town and port on the uruguay, connected by railway with an extensive producing region which gives it an important export trade, and is the seat of a national college and normal school. its population was estimated at 9000 in 1905. other large towns are gualeguay and gualeguaychu. envoy (fr. _envoye_, "sent"), a diplomatic agent of the second rank. the word _envoye_ comes first into general use in this connexion in the 17th century, as a translation of the lat. _ablegatus_ or _missus_ (see diplomacy). hence the word envoy is commonly used of any one sent on a mission of any sort. enzio (c. 1220-1272), king of sardinia, was a natural son of the emperor frederick ii. his mother was probably a german, and his name, enzio, is a diminutive form of the german _heinrich_. his father had a great affection for him, and he was probably present at the battle of cortenuova in 1237. in 1238 he was married, in defiance of the wishes of pope gregory ix., to adelasia, widow of ubaldo visconti and heiress of torres and gallura in sardinia. enzio took at once the title of king of torres and gallura, and in 1243 that of king of sardinia, but he only spent a few months in the island, and his sovereignty existed in name alone. in july 1239 he was appointed imperial vicegerent in italy, and sharing in his father's excommunication in the same year, took a prominent part in the war which broke out between the emperor and the pope. he commenced his campaign by subduing the march of ancona, and in may 1241 was in command of the forces which defeated the genoese fleet at meloria, where he seized a large amount of booty and captured a number of ecclesiastics who were proceeding to a council summoned by gregory to rome. later he fought in lombardy. in 1248 he assisted frederick in his vain attempt to take parma, but was wounded and taken prisoner by the bolognese at fossalta on the 26th of may 1249. his captivity was a severe blow to the hohenstaufen cause in italy, and was soon followed by the death of the emperor. he seems to have been well treated by the people of bologna, where he remained a captive until his death on the 14th of march 1272. he was apparently granted a magnificent funeral, and was buried in the church of st dominic at bologna. during his imprisonment enzio is said to have been loved by lucia da viadagola, a well-born lady of bologna, who shared his captivity and attempted to procure his release. some doubt has, however, been cast upon this story, and the same remark applies to another which tells how two friends had almost succeeded in freeing him from prison concealed in a wine-cask, when he was recognized by a lock of his golden hair. his marriage with adelasia had been declared void by the pope in 1243, and he left one legitimate, and probably two illegitimate daughters. enzio forms the subject of a drama by e.b.s. raupach and of an opera by a.f.b. dulk. see f.w. grossman, _konig enzio_ (gottingen, 1883); and h. blasius, _konig enzio_ (breslau, 1884). enzyme (gr. [greek: enzymos], leavened, from [greek: en], in, and [greek: zyme], leaven), a term, first suggested by kuhne, for an unorganized ferment (see fermentation), a group of substances, in the constitution of plants and animals, which decompose certain carbon compounds occurring in association with them. see also plants: _physiology_; nutrition, &c. eocene (gr. [greek: eos], dawn, [greek: kainos], recent), in geology, the name suggested by sir c. lyell in 1833 for the lower subdivision of the rocks of the tertiary era. the term was intended to convey the idea that this was the period which saw the dawn of the recent or existing forms of life, because it was estimated that among the fossils of this period only 3-1/2% of the species are still living. since lyell's time much has been learned about the fauna and flora of the period, and many palaeontologists doubt if any of the eocene _species_ are still extant, unless it be some of the lowest forms of life. nevertheless the name is a convenient one and is in general use. the eocene as originally defined was not long left intact, for e. beyrich in 1854 proposed the term "oligocene" for the upper portion, and later, in 1874, k. schimper suggested "paleocene" as a separate appellation for the lower portion. the oligocene division has been generally accepted as a distinct period, but "paleocene" is not so widely used. in north-western europe the close of the cretaceous period was marked by an extensive emergence of the land, accompanied, in many places, by considerable erosion of the mesozoic rocks; a prolonged interval elapsed before a relative depression of the land set in and the first eocene deposits were formed. the early eocene formations of the london-paris-belgian basin were of fresh-water and brackish origin; towards the middle of the period they had become marine, while later they reverted to the original type. in southern and eastern europe changes of sea-level were less pronounced in character; here the late cretaceous seas were followed without much modification by those of the eocene period, so rich in foraminiferal life. in many other regions, the great gap which separates the tertiary from the mesozoic rocks in the neighbourhood of london and paris does not exist, and the boundary line is difficult to draw. eocene strata succeed cretaceous rocks without serious unconformity in the libyan area, parts of denmark, s.e. alps, india, new zealand and central n. america. the unconformity is marked in england, parts of egypt, on the atlantic coastal plain and in the eastern gulf region of n. america, as well as in the marine eocene of western oregon. the clastic flysch formation of the carpathians and northern alps appears to be of eocene age in the upper and cretaceous in the lower part. the eocene sea covered at various times a strip of the atlantic coast from new jersey southward and sent a great tongue or bay up the mississippi valley; similar epicontinental seas spread over parts of the pacific border, but the plains of the interior with the mountains on the west were meanwhile being filled with terrestrial and lacustrine deposits which attained an enormous development. this great extension of non-marine formations in the eocene of different countries has introduced difficulties in the way of exact correlation; it is safer, therefore, in the present state of knowledge, to make no attempt to find in the eocene strata of america and india, &c., the precise equivalent of subdivisions that have been determined with more or less exactitude in the london-paris-belgian area. [illustration: distribution of eocene rocks.] it is possible that in eocene times there existed a greater continuity of the northern land masses than obtains to-day. europe at that time was probably united with n. america through iceland and greenland; while on the other side, america may have joined asia by the way of alaska. on the other hand, the great central, mediterranean sea which stretched across the eurasian continents sent an arm northward somewhere just east of the ural mountains, and thus divided the northern land mass in that region. s. america, australia and perhaps africa _may_ have been connected more or less directly with the antarctic continent. associated, no doubt, with the crustal movements which closed the cretaceous and inaugurated the eocene period, there were local and intermittent manifestations of volcanic activity throughout the period. diabases, gabbros, serpentines, soda-potash granites, &c., are found in the eocene of the central and northern apennines. tuffs occur in the veronese and vicentin alps--ronca and spelecco schists. tuffs, basalts and other igneous rocks appear also in montana, wyoming, california, oregon, washington, idaho, colorado; also in central america, the antillean region and s. america. it has been very generally assumed by geologists, mainly upon the evidence of plant remains, that the eocene period opened with a temperate climate in northern latitudes; later, as indicated by the london clay, alum bay and bournemouth beds, &c., the temperature appears to have been at least subtropical. but it should be observed that the frequent admixture of temperate forms with what are now tropical species makes it difficult to speak with certainty as to the degree of warmth experienced. the occurrence of lignites in the eocene of the paris basin, tirol and n. america is worthy of consideration in this connexion. on the other hand, the coarse boulder beds in the lower flysch have been regarded as evidence of local glaciation; this would not be inconsistent with a period of widespread geniality of climate, as is indicated by the large size of the nummulites and the dispersion of the marine mollusca, but the evidence for glaciation is not yet conclusive. _eocene stratigraphy._--in britain, with the exception of the bovey beds (q.v.) and the leaf-bearing beds of antrim and mull, eocene rocks are confined to the south-eastern portion of england. they lie in the two well-marked synclinal basins of london and hampshire which are conterminous in the western area (hampshire, berkshire), but are separated towards the east by the denuded anticline of the weald. the strata in these two basins have been grouped in the following manner:-- _london basin._ _hampshire basin._ upper upper bagshot sands. headon hill and barton sands. / middle bagshot beds and bracklesham beds and leaf middle < part of lower bagshot beds of bournemouth and \ beds. alum bay. / part of lower bagshot | beds, london clay, | blackheath and oldhaven london clay and the equivalent lower < beds, woolwich and bognor beds, woolwich | reading beds, thanet and reading beds. \ sands. the thanet sands have not been recognized in the hampshire basin; they are usually pale yellow and greenish sands with streaks of clay and at the base; resting on an evenly denuded surface of chalk is a very constant layer of green-coated, well-rounded chalk flint pebbles. it is a marine formation, but fossils are scarce except in e. kent, where it attains its most complete development. the woolwich and reading beds (see reading beds) contain both marine and estuarine fossils. in western kent, between the woolwich beds and the london clay are the oldhaven beds or blackheath pebbles, 20 to 40 ft., made up almost entirely of well-rounded flint pebbles set in sand; the fossils are marine and estuarine. the london clay, 500 ft. thick, is a marine deposit consisting of blue or brown clay with sandy layers and septarian nodules; its equivalent in the hampshire area is sometimes called the bognor clay, well exposed on the coast of sussex. the bagshot, bracklesham and barton beds will be found briefly described under those heads. crossing the english channel, we find in northern france and belgium a series of deposits identified in their general characters with those of england. the anticlinal ridge of the english weald is prolonged south-eastwards on to the continent, and separates the belgian from the french eocene areas much as it separates the areas of london and hampshire; and it is clear that at the time of deposition all four regions were intimately related and subject to similar variations of marine and estuarine conditions. with a series of strata so variable from point to point it is natural that many purely local phases should have received distinctive names; in the upper eocene of the paris basin the more important formations are the highly fossiliferous marine sands known as the "sands of beauchamp" and the local fresh-water limestone, the "calcaire de st ouen." the middle eocene is represented by the well-known "calcaire grossier," about 90 ft. thick. the beds in this series vary a good deal lithologically, some being sandy, others marly or glauconitic; fossils are abundant. the upper calcaire grossier or "caillasses" is a fresh-water formation; the middle division is marine; while the lower one is partly marine, partly of fresh-water origin. the numerous quarries and mines for building stone in the neighbourhood of paris have made it possible to acquire a very precise knowledge of this division, and many of the beds have received trade names, such as "rochette," "roche," "banc franc," "banc vert," "cliquart," "saint nom;" the two last named are dolomitic. below these limestones are the nummulitic sands of cuise and soissons. the lower eocene contains the lignitic plastic clay (_argile plastique_) of soissons and elsewhere; the limestones of rilly and sezanne and the greenish glauconitic sands of bracheux. the relative position of the above formations with respect to those of belgium and england will be seen from the table of eocene strata. the eocene deposits of southern europe differ in a marked manner from those of the anglo-parisian basin. the most important feature is the great development of nummulitic limestone with thin marls and nummulitic sandstones. the sea in which the nummulitic limestones were formed occupied the site of an enlarged mediterranean communicating with similar waters right round the world, for these rocks are found not only in southern europe, including all the alpine tracts, greece and turkey and southern russia, but they are well developed in northern africa, asia minor, palestine, and they may be followed through persia, baluchistan, india, into china, tibet, japan, sumatra, borneo and the philippines. the nummulitic limestones are frequently hard and crystalline, especially where they have been subjected to elevation and compression as in the alpine region, 10,000 ft. above the sea, or from 16,000, to 20,000 ft., in the central asian plateau. besides being a widespread formation the nummulitic limestone is locally several thousand feet thick. while the foraminiferal limestones were being formed over most of southern europe, a series of clastic beds were in course of formation in the carpathians and the northern alpine region, viz. the flysch and the vienna sandstone. some portions of this alpine eocene are coarsely conglomeratic, and in places there are boulders of non-local rocks of enormous dimensions included in the argillaceous or sandy matrix. the occurrence of these large boulders together with the scarceness of fossils has suggested a glacial origin for the formation; but the evidence hitherto collected is not conclusive. c.w. von gumbel has classified the eocene of the northern alps (bavaria, &c.) as follows:-- upper eocene, flysch and vienna sandstone, with younger nummulitic beds and haring group. middle " kressenberg beds, with older nummulitic beds. lower " burberg beds, greensands with small nummulites. the haring group of northern tirol contains lignite beds of some importance. in the southern and s.e. alps the following divisions are recognized. upper eocene, macigno or tassello--vienna sandstone, conglomerates, marls and shales. middle " nummulitic limestones, three subdivisions. lower " liburnian stage (or proteocene), foraminiferal limestones with fresh-water intercalations at the top and bottom, the _cosina_ beds, fresh-water in the middle of the series. in the central and northern apennines the eocene strata have been subdivided by prof. f. sacco into an upper bartonian, a middle parisian and a lower suessonian series. in the middle member are the representatives of the flysch and the macigno. these eocene strata are upwards of 5500 ft. thick. in northern africa the nummulitic limestones and sandstones are widely spread; the lower portions comprise the libyan group and the shales of esneh on the nile (flandrien), the _alveolina_ beds of sokotra and others; the mokattam stage of egypt is a representative of the later eocene. much of the n. african eocene contains phosphatic beds. in india strata of eocene age are extensively developed; in sind the marine ranikot beds, 1500 to 2000 ft., consisting of clays with gypsum and lignite, shales and sandstones; these beds have, side by side with eocene nummulites, a few fossils of cretaceous affinities. above the ranikot beds are the massive nummulitic limestones and sandstones of the kirthar group; these are succeeded by the nummulitic limestones and shales at the base of the nari group. in the southern himalayan region the nummulitic phase of eocene deposit is well developed, but there are difficulties in fixing the line of demarcation between this and the younger formations. the lower part of the sirmur series of the simla district may belong to this period; it is subdivided into the kasauli group and the dagshai group with the subathu group at the base. beneath the thick nummulitic eocene limestone of the salt range are shales and marls with a few coal seams. the marine eocene rocks of n. america are most extensively developed round the coast of the gulf of mexico, whence they spread into the valley of the mississippi and, as a comparatively narrow strip, along the atlantic coastal plain to new jersey. the series in alabama, which may be taken as typical of the gulf coast eocene, is as follows:-- upper jacksonian, white limestone of alabama (and vicksburg?). middle claibornian, claiborne series. buhrstone series. lower, chickasawan sands and lignites. midwayan or clayton formation, limestones. the above succession is not fully represented in the atlantic coast states. on the pacific coast marine formations are found in california and oregon; such are the tejon series with lignite and oil; the escondido series of s. california (7000 ft.), part of the pascadero series of the santa cruz mountains; the pulaski, tyee, arago and coaledo beds--with coals--in oregon. in the puget formation of washington we have a great series of sediments, largely of brackish water origin, and in parts coal-bearing. the total thickness of this formation has been estimated at 20,000 ft. (it may prove to be less than this), but it is probable that only the lower portion is of eocene age. the most interesting of the n. american eocene deposits are those of the rocky mountains and the adjacent western plains, in wyoming, nevada, nebraska, colorado, &c.; they are of terrestrial, lacustrine or aeolian origin, and on this account and because they were not strictly synchronous, there is considerable difficulty in placing them in their true position in the time-scale. the main divisions or groups are generally recognized as follows:-- mammalian zonal forms. upper [1] uinta group, 800 ft. (? = jacksonian) _diplacodon._ _telmatotherium._ middle[2] bridger group, 2000 ft. (? = claibornian) _uintatherium._ lower [3] wind river group, 800 ft. _bathyopsis._ [4] wasatch group, 2000 ft. (? = chickasawan) _coryphodon._ basal [5] torrejon group, 300 ft. _pantolambda._ [6] puerco group, 500 to 1000 ft. _polymastodon._ [1] south of the uinta mts. in utah. [2] fort bridger basin. [3] wind river in wyoming. [4] wasatch mts. in utah. [5] torrejon in new mexico. [6] puerco river, new mexico. the fort union beds of canada and parts of montana and n. dakota are probably the oldest eocene strata of the western interior; they are some 2000 ft. thick and possibly are equivalent to the midwayan group. but in these beds, as in those known as arapahoe, livingston, denver, ohio and ruby, which are now often classed as belonging to the upper laramie formation, it is safer to regard them as a transitional series between the mesozoic and tertiary systems. there is, however, a marked unconformity between the eocene telluride or san miguel and poison canyon formations of colorado and the underlying laramie rocks. many local aspects of eocene rocks have received special names, but too little is known about them to enable them to be correctly placed in the eocene series. such are the clarno formation (late eocene) of the john day basin, oregon, the pinyon conglomerate of yellowstone park, the sphinx conglomerate of montana, the whitetail conglomerate of arizona, the manti shales of utah, the mojave formation of s. california and the amyzon formation of nevada. of the eocene of other countries little is known in detail. strata of this age occur in central and s. america (patagonia-megellanian series--brazil, chile, argentina), in s. australia (and in the great australian bight), new zealand, in seymour island near graham land in the antarctic regions, japan, java, borneo, new guinea, moluccas, philippines, new caledonia, also in greenland, bear island, spitzbergen and siberia. _organic life of the eocene period._--as it has been observed above, the name eocene was given to this period on the ground that in its fauna only a small percentage of _living_ species were present; this estimation was founded upon the assemblage of invertebrate remains in which, from the commencement of this period until the present day, there has been comparatively little change. the real biological interest of the period centres around the higher vertebrate types. in the marine mollusca the most noteworthy change is the entire absence of ammonoids, the group which throughout the mesozoic era had taken so prominent a place, but disappeared completely with the close of the cretaceous. nautiloids were more abundant than they are at present, but as a whole the cephalopods took a more subordinate part than they had done in previous periods. on the other hand, gasteropods and pelecypods found in the numerous shallow seas a very suitable environment and flourished exceedingly, and their shells are often preserved in a state of great perfection and in enormous numbers. of the gasteropod genera _cerithium_ with its estuarine and lagoonal forms _potamides_, _potamidopsis_, &c., is very characteristic; _rostellaria_, _voluta_, _fusus_, _pleurotoma_, _conus_, _typhis_, may also be cited. _cardium_, _venericardia_, _crassatella_, _corbulomya_, _cytherea_, _lucina_, _anomia_, _ostrea_ are a few of the many pelecypod genera. echinoderms were represented by abundant sea-urchins, _echinolampas_, _linthia_, _conoclypeus_, &c. corals flourished on the numerous reefs and approximated to modern forms (_trochosmilia_, _dendrophyllia_). but by far the most abundant marine organisms were the foraminifera which flourished in the warm seas in countless myriads. foremost among these are the _nummulites_, which by their extraordinary numerical development and great size, as well as by their wide distribution, demand special recognition. many other genera of almost equal importance as rock builders, lived at the same time: _orthophragma_, _operculina_, _assilina_, _orbitolites_, _miliola_, _alveolina_. crustacea were fairly abundant (_xanthopsis_, _portunus_), and most of the orders and many families of modern insects were represented. when we turn to the higher forms of life, the reptiles and mammals, we find a remarkable contrast between the fauna of the eocene and those periods which preceded and succeeded it. the great group of saurian reptiles, whose members had held dominion on land and sea during most of the mesozoic time, had completely disappeared by the beginning of the eocene; in their place placental mammals made their appearance and rapidly became the dominant group. among the early eocene mammals no trace can be found of the numerous and clearly-marked orders with which we are familiar to-day; instead we find obscurely differentiated forms, which cannot be fitted without violence into any of the modern orders. the early placental mammals were generalized types (with certain non-placental characters) with potentialities for rapid divergence and development in the direction of the more specialized modern orders. thus, the creodonta foreshadowed the carnivora, the condylarthra presaged the herbivorous groups; but before the close of this period, so favourable were the conditions of life to a rapid evolution of types, that most of the great _orders_ had been clearly defined, though none of the eocene _genera_ are still extant. among the early carnivores were _arctocyon_, _palaeonictis_, _amblyctonus_, _hyaenodon_, _cynodon_, _provivera_, _patriofelis_. the primitive dog-like forms did not appear until late in the period, in europe; and true cats did not arrive until later, though they were represented by _eusmilus_ in the upper eocene of france. the primitive ungulates (condylarths) were generalized forms with five effective toes, exemplified in _phenacodus_. the gross amblypoda, with five-toed stumpy feet (_coryphodon_), were prominent in the early eocene; particularly striking forms were the _dinoceratidae_, _dinoceras_, with three pairs of horns or protuberances on its massive skull and a pair of huge canine teeth projecting downwards; _tinoceras_, _uintatherium_, _loxophodon_, &c.; these elephantine creatures, whose remains are so abundant in the eocene deposits of western america, died out before the close of the period. the divergence of the hoofed mammals into the two prominent divisions, the odd-toed and even-toed, began in this period, but the former did not get beyond the three-toed stage. the least differentiated of the odd-toed group were the lophiodonts: tapirs were foreshadowed by _systemodon_ and similar forms (_palaeotherium_, _paloplotherium_); the peccary-like _hyracotherium_ was a forerunner of the horse, _hyrochinus_ was a primitive rhinoceros. the evolution of the horse through such forms as _hyracotherium_, _pachynolophus_, _eohippus_, &c., appears to have proceeded along parallel lines in eurasia and america, but the true horse did not arrive until later. ancestral deer were represented by _dichobune_, _amphitragulus_ and others, while many small hog-like forms existed (_diplopus_, _eohyus_, _hyopotamus_, _homacodon_). the primitive stock of the camel group developed in n. america in late eocene time and sent branches into s. america and eurasia. the edentates were very generalized forms at this period (ganodonta); the rodents (tillodontia) attained a large size for members of this group, e.g. _tillotherium_. the insectivores had eocene forerunners, and the lemuroids--probable ancestors of the apes--were forms of great interest, _anaptomorphus_, _microsyops_, _heterohyus_, _microchaerus_, _coenopithecus_; even the cetaceans were well represented by _zeuglodon_ and others. +--------------+-------------------------+----------------------+-------------------+---------------+------------------+------------------+ | | | | | mediterranean | | | | | | | | regions and | flysch | | | stages. | paris basin. | england. | belgian basin. | great central | phase. | north america. | | | | | | sea. | | | +--------------+-------------------------+----------------------+-------------------+---------------+------------------+------------------+ | bartonien.[1]| limestone of saint-ouen.| barton beds. | | | | unita group and | | | sands of mortefontaine. | | sands of lede. | | | jacksonian. | | | sands of beauchamp. | upper bagshot sands. | | | | | | | sands of auvers. | | | | | | +--------------+-------------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ | | | | | | bracklesham and | laekenien. | | | bridger group | | lutetien. | calcaire grossier. | bournemouth beds. | bruxellien. | | | and | | | | lower bagshot sands. | paniselien. | | upper part of the| claibornian. | +--------------+-------------------------+----------------------+-------------------+ | alpine flysch | | | ypresien. | nummulitic sands of | alum bay leaf beds. | sands of mons en | | and vienna and | wind river group.| | | soissons and sands of | | pevele. | nummulitic | carpathian | wasatch group | | | cuise and aizy. | | flanders clay. | limestones, | sandstones. | and | | | | | | sandstones | | | +---+----------+ | +-------------------+ and shales. | | | | | | | london clay. | | | macigno of the | | | l | | | oldhaven beds. | upper landenien | | apennines and | | | a | sparna- | | | sands. | | maritime alps. | chickasawan. | | n | cien. | plastic clay and lignite| woolwich and reading | | | | | | d | | beds. | beds. | sands of | | | | | e |----------+-------------------------+----------------------+ ostricourt. | | | torrejon group | | n | | limestones of rilly and | | | | | and | | i | | sezanne. | thanet sands. | landenien tuffeau.| | | midwayan. | | e |thanetien.| sands of rilly and | | | | | | | n | | bracheux. | | marls of gelinden.| | | puerco group. | | | | | | | | | | +---+----------+-------------------------+----------------------+-------------------+---------------+------------------+------------------+ the non-placental mammals although abundant were taking a secondary place; _didelphys_, the primitive opossum, is noteworthy on account of its wide geographical range. among the birds, the large flightless forms, _eupterornis_, _gastornis_, were prominent, and many others were present, such as the ancestral forms of our modern gulls, albatrosses, herons, buzzards, eagles, owls, quails, plovers. reptiles were poorly represented, with the exception of crocodilians, tortoises, turtles and some large snakes. the flora of the eocene period, although full of interest, does not convey the impression of newness that is afforded by the fauna of the period. the reason for this difference is this: the newer flora had been introduced and had developed to a considerable extent in the cretaceous period, and there is no sharp break between the flora of the earlier and that of the later period; in both we find a mixed assemblage--what we should now regard as tropical palms, growing side by side with mild-temperate trees. early eocene plants in n. europe, oaks, willows, chestnuts (castanea), laurels, indicate a more temperate climate than existed in middle eocene when in the isle of wight, hampshire and the adjacent portions of the continent, palms, figs, cinnamon flourished along with the cactus, magnolia, sequoia, cypress and ferns. the late eocene flora of europe was very similar to its descendant in modern australasia. see a. de lapparent, _traite de geologie_, vol. iii. (5th ed., 1906), which contains a good general account of the period, with numerous references to original papers. also r.b. newton, _systematic list of the frederick e. edwards collection of british oligocene and eocene mollusca in the british museum_ (_natural history_) (1891), pp. 299-325; g.d. harris, "a revision of our lower eocenes," _proc. geologists' assoc._ x., 1887-1888; w.b. clark, "correlation papers: eocene" (1891), _u.s. geol. survey bull. no. 83._ for more recent literature consult _geological literature added to the geological society's library_, published annually by the society. (j. a. h.) footnote: [1] bartonien from barton, england. lutetien " lutetia = paris. ypresien " ypres, flanders. landenien " landen, belgium. thanetien " the isle of thanet. sparnacien " sparnacum = epernay. laekenien " laeken, belgium. bruxellien " brussels. paniselien " mont panisel, near mons. other names that have been applied to subdivisions of the eocene not included in the table are parisien and suessonien (soissons); ludien (ludes in the paris basin) and priabonien (priabona in the vicentine alps); heersien (heer near maastricht) and wemmelien (wemmel, belgium); very many more might be mentioned. eon de beaumont, charles genevieve louise auguste andre timothee d' (1728-1810), commonly known as the chevalier d'eon, french political adventurer, famous for the supposed mystery of his sex, was born near tonnerre in burgundy, on the 7th of october 1728. he was the son of an advocate of good position, and after a distinguished course of study at the college mazarin he became a doctor of law by special dispensation before the usual age, and adopted his father's profession. he began literary work as a contributor to freron's _annee litteraire_, and attracted notice as a political writer by two works on financial and administrative questions, which he published in his twenty-fifth year. his reputation increased so rapidly that in 1755 he was, on the recommendation of louis francois, prince of conti, entrusted by louis xv. (who had originally started his "secret" foreign policy--i.e. by undisclosed agents behind the backs of his ministers--in favour of the prince of conti's ambition to be king of poland) with a secret mission to the court of russia. it was on this occasion that he is said for the first time to have assumed the dress of a woman, with the connivance, it is supposed, of the french court.[1] in this disguise he obtained the appointment of reader to the empress elizabeth, and won her over entirely to the views of his royal master, with whom he maintained a secret correspondence during the whole of his diplomatic career. after a year's absence he returned to paris to be immediately charged with a second mission to st petersburg, in which he figured in his true sex, and as brother of the reader who had been at the russian court the year before. he played an important part in the negotiations between the courts of russia, austria and france during the seven years' war. for these diplomatic services he was rewarded with the decoration of the grand cross of st louis. in 1759 he served with the french army on the rhine as aide-de-camp to the marshal de broglie, and was wounded during the campaign. he had held for some years previously a commission in a regiment of dragoons, and was distinguished for his skill in military exercises, particularly in fencing. in 1762, on the return of the duc de nivernais, d'eon, who had been secretary to his embassy, was appointed his successor, first as resident agent and then as minister plenipotentiary at the court of great britain. he had not been long in this position when he lost the favour of his sovereign, chiefly, according to his own account, through the adverse influence of madame de pompadour, who was jealous of him as a secret correspondent of the king. superseded by count de guerchy, d'eon showed his irritation by denying the genuineness of the letter of appointment, and by raising an action against guerchy for an attempt to poison him. guerchy, on the other hand, had previously commenced an action against d'eon for libel, founded on the publication by the latter of certain state documents of which he had possession in his official capacity. both parties succeeded in so far as a true bill was found against guerchy for the attempt to murder, though by pleading his privilege as ambassador he escaped a trial, and d'eon was found guilty of the libel. failing to come up for judgment when called on, he was outlawed. for some years afterwards he lived in obscurity, appearing in public chiefly at fencing matches. during this period rumours as to the sex of d'eon, originating probably in the story of his first residence at st petersburg as a female, began to excite public interest. in 1774 he published at amsterdam a book called _les loisirs du chevalier d'eon_, which stimulated gossip. bets were frequently laid on the subject, and an action raised before lord mansfield in 1777 for the recovery of one of these bets brought the question to a judicial decision, by which d'eon was declared a female. a month after the trial he returned to france, having received permission to do so as the result of negotiations in which beaumarchais was employed as agent. the conditions were that he was to deliver up certain state documents in his possession, and to wear the dress of a female. the reason for the latter of these stipulations has never been clearly explained, but he complied with it to the close of his life. in 1784 he received permission to visit london for the purpose of bringing back his library and other property. he did not, however, return to france, though after the revolution he sent a letter, using the name of madame d'eon, in which he offered to serve in the republican army. he continued to dress as a lady, and took part in fencing matches with success, though at last in 1796 he was badly hurt in one. he died in london on the 22nd of may 1810. during the closing years of his life he is said to have enjoyed a small pension from george iii. a post-mortem examination of the body conclusively established the fact that d'eon was a man. the best modern accounts are in the duc de broglie's _le secret du roi_ (1888); captain j. buchan telfer's _strange career of the chevalier d'eon_ (1888); octave homberg and fernand jousselin, _le chevalier d'eon_ (1904); and a. lang's _historical mysteries_ (1904). footnote: [1] but see lang's _historical mysteries_, pp. 241-242, where this traditional account is discussed and rejected.