302 ANNUAL KECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



erable to any familiar form of modern times. They possessed 

 horn cores, which probably sustained horns resembling those 

 of the deer. In size they equaled the elephant, but the limbs 

 were shorter. The nose was probably flexible, as in the ta- 

 pir, but without any true proboscis. All the known remains 

 are from points east of the Rocky Mountains, in the miocene 

 beds of Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. 4 2>, 

 April, 1876. 



RAPID DESTEUCTIOX OF THE BUFFALO. 



Some idea of the extent to which the extermination of the 

 buffalo is going on at the present time may be learned from 

 the fact that the Wilkox Tanning Company, of Elk County, 

 Pennsylvania, said to be the largest of the kind in the world, 

 and which is especially engaged in tanning buffalo-skins, re- 

 ceived in the spring of 1875 120,000 bull-buffalo hides. These 

 were all taken within a few months previous to the time of 

 shipment, and constituted only a small portion of the entire 

 number destroyed, which may be safely estimated at half a 

 million. One thousand pounds of very heavy bullets were 

 picked out, partly imbedded in the skin or matted hair of 

 this stock of hides. Several of these bullets were sent to the 

 Smithsonian Institution, and were exhibited at the Centen- 

 nial display, illustrating the useful products of the United 

 States as derived from the animal kingdom. 



GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION AMONG NORTH AMERICAN MAM- 

 MALS, ESPECIALLY IN RESPECT TO SIZE. 



The fourth number of the second volume of the Bulletin 

 of the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territo- 

 ries is occupied by several zoological papers by Mr. J. A. 

 Allen, of Cambridge. The most important of these is one 

 upon "The Geographical Variation among North American 

 Mammals, especially in respect to Size." 



Referring to the generalization that was made some years 

 ago, that the American mammals as well as birds increase in 

 size with the latitude of their birth-place, as also with alti- 

 tude, Mr. Allen remarks that this does not apply in the case 

 of some of the carnivora, and that the following propositions 

 more nearly express the fact : 1. The maximum physical de- 

 velopment of the individual is attained where the conditions 



