A correct interpretation of the assemblage of bones forming the upper and the lower extremities depends in main part upon the determination of the true meaning of the scapulae, clavicles, and the bones of the pelvis ; and the obscurity in which the typical character of these bones is veiled in the higher vertebrata, by reason of their displacement, their extraordinary development, or their coalescence, is cleared away by reference to the skeleton of fish, or of the lowest reptiles, in whom the distinctive characters of each segment are permanently retained. And it is with pleasure that we read the acquiescence which Cuvier, in his latter days, was beginning to yield to that view which established the homologies of the ring of bones arching downwards from the occipital bone in fish, and supporting the pectoral fin, with the scapula and the coracoid bones, in the rest of the vertebrate series. In a note appended to the article upon the Osteology of Fishes, the learned Editors of the "Traité d'Anatomie comparée," observe, "Some surprise will be excited that we give in this work, which bears the name of M. Cuvier, another determination of the bones of the shoulder and of the pelvis in fish than that which is found in his ichthyology ; but in order to justify this apparent temerity let us say, that upon our communicating our ideas to M. Cuvier upon this subject a short time before his death, he replied, after having considered in all its bearings, and for more than a quarter of an hour, the skeleton of a fish placed before him, "Vous pourriez bien avoir raison," a common formula by which he gave his assent to any idea which was communicated to him."