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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



members of the American Association of 

 Conchologists, was bom about 1833, and 

 removed to Bloomington, 111., when twenty- 

 two years old. He retired from business 

 " with a snug fortune " after seventeen years 

 of dealing in drugs. During this time he 

 imbibed a taste for natural history, and after 

 his retirement devoted his entire time and 

 the proceeds of his large estate to the gath- 

 ering and collecting of specimens. After 

 Mrs. Lichtenthaler's death, without chil- 

 dren, about ten years ago, he turned his at- 

 tention more than ever to his chosen work. 

 He died in San Francisco, Cal., February 20, 

 1893. He was a true amateur, and never 

 sold a specimen or labored for hire, but was 

 always ready to exchange specimens or give 

 duplicates to persons who would appreciate 

 them. In leaving his collection to the Illi- 

 nois Wesleyan University he took care that 

 his wife's name should be associated with 

 his in the title given it. 



The Giraffe. The giraffe is described by 

 E. Lydekker as the sole living representative 

 of a separate family of the group of rumi- 

 nant ungulates. It owes its height mainly to 

 an enormous elongation of two of the bones 

 of the legs, combined with a corresponding 

 lengthening of the vertebra) of the neck. Its 

 long neck has no more vertebrae than the 

 neck of the hippopotamus or the extremely 

 short neck of the whale. But while the 

 bones of the whale and hippopotamus are 

 broad and short, those of the giraffe are 

 long ten inches in full-grown animals and 

 slender. Accurate information is wanting as 

 to the extreme height attained by the giraffe, 

 but specimens of seventeen and eighteen 

 feet have been described. The most dis- 

 tinctive structiu-al peculiarity of the animal 

 is in the nature of its horns, which take the 

 form of upright bony projections from the 

 toj) of the head, wholly covered with skin, 

 and are unlike those of any other living ru- 

 minant. The giraffe's place in the animal 

 kingdom seems to be between those of the 

 deer and the antelopes ; " while, as neither 

 of these three groups can be regarded as the 

 dfrect descendant of either of the other two, 

 it is clear that we must regard all three as 

 divergent branches of some ancient common 

 stock." Of external features, the giraffe has 

 not those lateral or spinous hoofs which are 



present in most ruminants. The large size 

 and prominence of the eyes and the extensi- 

 bility of the tongue are noticeable features 

 The long tail, terminating in a large tuft of 

 black hairs, is a feature unlike any in the 

 deer, though it recalls certain points in the 

 antelopes. "Somewhat stiff and ungainly 

 in its motions the small number of verte- 

 brae not admitting the graceful arching of 

 the neck characterizing the swan and the 

 ostrich the giraffe is in all parts of its or- 

 ganization admirably adapted to a life on 

 open plains dotted over with tall trees, upon 

 which it can browse without fear of compe- 

 tition by any other living creature. Its wide 

 range of vision affords it timely warning of 

 the approach of foes ; from the effect of 

 sand-storms it is protected by the power of 

 automatically closing its nostrils ; while its 

 capacity of existing for months at a time 

 without drinking renders it suited to inhabit 

 waterless districts." When seen away from 

 its habitual surroundings the spots of the 

 giraffe make it seem very conspicuous ; but 

 among the tall mimosas in which they feed, 

 " giraffes are the most inconspicuous of all 

 animals ; their mottled coats harmonizing so 

 exactly with the weather-beaten stems and 

 with the splashes of light and shade thrown 

 on the ground by the sun shining through 

 the leaves, that at a comparatively short dis- 

 tance even the Bushman or Caffre is fre- 

 quently at a total loss to distinguish trees 

 from giraffes or giraffes from trees." The 

 giraffe is now confined to Africa, although in 

 Pliocene times it roamed over parts of south- 

 ern Europe and Asia. It was known to the 

 Romans of the time of the empire as the 

 camelopard, but was afterward forgotten in 

 Europe till about two hundred years ago. 

 It is much hunted for its skins, which are 

 used in the manufacture of the South African 

 jamhok whips, and is in great danger of 

 being driven out of existence. 



Negative Evidenee from the Caves. In 



the papers of the department of Archaeology 

 and Paleontology of the University of Penn- 

 sylvania, H. C. Mercer describes explorations 

 of caves and other spots which might yield 

 signs, near Trenton, N. J., and in the South, 

 for evidences of Palaeolithic man. At Tren- 

 ton he found " turtlebacks," explainable as 

 " inchoate cache blades of the latest Indian 



