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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the progenitor of many of the finest dogs of his race in America, 

 breathed his last in Pittsburgh, and by happy fortune his skin was pre- 

 served and came into the possession of the Museum. Many of the 

 smaller groups of birds delineate accurately the habits of the more 

 familiar species and are accepted as masterpieces of the taxidermic art. 

 The mammals are represented by small, but important, collections. 

 One of the recent acquisitions is that of a specimen of Rhinoceros simus. 

 This large mammal, which is, with the exception of the elephant, the 

 largest of terrestrial quadrupeds, is believed to be on the verge of extinc- 

 tion. A few years ago the Hon. Cecil Rhodes secured a specimen by 

 purchase, which he presented to the South African Museum at Cape 

 Town. Another was secured by the British Museum, a third specimen 

 was acquired by the Hon. Walter Rothschild for his private collection at 

 Tring, and a fourth was purchased by the Imperial Academy of Sci- 



Rhinoceros Simus Buechell. 



ences at St. Petersburg. The specimen just acquired by the Carnegie 

 Museum is the fifth to be preserved as a memorial of its rapidly vanish- 

 ing race, and is the only specimen known to exist in the New World. 



One of the most fruitful departments of activity in connection with 

 the Museum is presided over by Prof. J. B. Hatcher, the famous 

 explorer and paleontologist. Mr. Carnegie has long realized the im- 

 portance of paleontology as throwing light upon the evolution of species, 

 and in the spring of 1899 provided a special fund for research in this 

 direction. The results have been most satisfactory, when regard is 

 had alike to the number of the important discoveries which have been 

 made and the beauty and perfection of the specimens which have been 

 obtained. It is well known that the evolution of the horse took place 

 in North America. The discoveries of Professor Hatcher made in 

 1900 show that in all probability in like manner the rhinoceros was 



