Bell（T。Bell，F。R。S。，formerlyProf。ofZoologyinKing’sCollege，London，andsometimesecretarytotheRoyalSociety。Heafterwardsdescribedthereptilesforthezoologyofthevoyageofthe\"Beagle\"。）whotomysurpriseexpressedagooddealofinterestaboutmycrustaceaandreptiles，andseemswillingtoworkatthem。IalsoheardthatMr。BroderipwouldbegladtolookovertheSouthAmericanshells，sothatthingsflourishwellwithme。\"
Abouthisplantshewriteswithcharacteristicopennessastohisownignorance:\"Youhavemademeknownamongstthebotanists，butIfeltveryfoolishwhenMr。Donremarkedonthebeautifulappearanceofsomeplantwithanastoundinglongname，andaskedmeaboutitshabitation。SomeoneelseseemedquitesurprisedthatIknewnothingaboutaCarexfromIdonotknowwhere。Iwasatlastforcedtopleadmostentireinnocence，andthatIknewnomoreabouttheplantswhichIhadcollectedthanthemaninthemoon。\"
AstopartofhisGeologicalCollectionhewassoonabletowrite:\"I
[have]disposedofthemostimportantpart[of]mycollections，bygivingallthefossilbonestotheCollegeofSurgeons，castsofthemwillbedistributed，anddescriptionspublished。Theyareverycuriousandvaluable;oneheadbelongedtosomegnawinganimal，butofthesizeofaHippopotamus！Anothertoanant—eaterofthesizeofahorse！\"
ItisworthnotingthatatthistimetheonlyextinctmammaliafromSouthAmerica，whichhadbeendescribed，wereMastodon（threespecies）andMegatherium。TheremainsoftheotherextinctEdentatafromSirWoodbineParish’scollectionhadnotbeendescribed。Myfather’sspecimensincluded（besidestheabove—mentionedToxodonandScelidotherium）theremainsofMylodon，Glossotherium，anothergiganticanimalalliedtotheant—eater，andMacrauchenia。Hisdiscoveryoftheseremainsisamatterofinterestinitself，butithasaspecialimportanceasapointinhisownlife，sinceitwasthevividimpressionproducedbyexcavatingthemwithhisownhands（Ihaveoftenheardhimspeakofthedespairwithwhichhehadtobreakofftheprojectingextremityofahuge，partlyexcavatedbone，whentheboatwaitingforhimwouldwaitnolonger。）thatformedoneofthechiefstarting—pointsofhisspeculationontheoriginofspecies。ThisisshowninthefollowingextractfromhisPocketBookforthisyear（1837）: