492 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



species of gigantic cetaceans, or other known types, as indic- 

 ative of the probability of the existence of such animals. 

 After all, the type, in the case of the cetaceans, had long been 

 known, and the species would naturally be confounded under 

 it, and, in fact, could only be properly discriminated after 

 careful comparison and study. In the case of a sea-serpent, 

 however, we should have to account for the non-discovery of 

 any remains of a type not correlatable with those of one al- 

 ready known, either in the present or past epochs. As to 

 the continued survival of representatives of Plesiosauroid 

 or Mosasauroid types, in view of our knowledge of their 

 structure and their geological range, we must consider the 

 supposition as having no foundation in fact or probability. 



Size of the Tiger. 



Exaggerated statements of the size of the tio;er, or certain 

 individuals killed by hunters, are not infrequent. Few men 

 have had as much acquaintance with the species as Sir Jo- 

 seph Fayrer, the author of a special monograph on the " Roy- 

 al Tiger of Bengal," published in 1875, and therefore his 

 statements have exceptional weight. In an article in JYctt- 

 ure for November 7, 1878, he has given the results of his 

 inquiries and own measurements; and has announced the 

 belief that " the full-grown male Indian tiger may be said 

 to be from 9 to 12 feet, or 12 feet 2 inches, the tigress from 

 8 to 10 feet, or, perhaps in very rare instances, 11 feet, in 

 length, the height being from 3 to 3-i feet, or, rarely, 4 feet, 

 at the shoulder." The animal " should be measured from 

 the nose along the spine to the tip of the tail, as he lies dead 

 where he fell, before the skin is removed. One that is 10 

 feet by this measurement is large, and the full-grown male 

 does not often exceed this." The average length of the 

 male is about 9 to 9-J- feet, and of the female somewhat less. 



"The mere length of a tiger is not necessarily an indica- 

 tion of its real size. The tail is included in the measurement 

 so tiger-hunters have ruled that it shall be but the tail is 

 a somewhat variable element; in some it is long, in others 

 short, and it is quite possible that a 9-foot 6-inch tiger with 

 a short tail may be heavier, stronger, and larger than a 10- 

 foot tiger with a long tail. No doubt anything over 10 

 feet is very large, and those of 11 or 12 feet are rare and ex- 



