Scientific Intelligence — Zoology. 183 



this to be the true embryonic type of the Packydermata. — American 

 Annual of Snientific Discovery ^ p. 313. 



17. Fossil Elephant and Mastodon from Africa, — M. Gervais 

 communicated to the French Academy, on March 12th, that he had 

 just received from Algiers, a drawing of the molar tooth of a fossil 

 elephant, whose genus is very easily recognised, and which indicates 

 a species more resembling those found in a fossil state in Europe, 

 than the present African elephant. This tooth was found at Cher- 

 choll, in the province of Oran. Sicily has hitherto been the sou- 

 thernmost point on the Mediterranean where the fossil elephant has 

 been found. 



At the same time, he also mentioned the discovery, near Con- 

 stantino, of some fossil remains of mastodons. Though fossil re- 

 mains of this animal have been previously found in all the other por- 

 tions of the world, these are the first discovered in Africa. The 

 remains found are a tooth and a rib, and, as far as can be judged 

 from a drawing, they belonged to an animal more resembling the 

 mastodon brevirostris, or the arvernensis, than the mastodon angus- 

 todens. — American Journal of Scientific Discovert/, p. 287. 



18. Cauterization in the case of Poisonous Bites. — In the Comptes 

 Bendus for January 8th, we find an article by M. Parchappe, con- 

 taining the result of his observations on the question, whether the 

 spread of poison produced by a bite can be prevented by cauterizing. 

 He was induced to examine into this subject, because M. Renard had 

 stated that cauterization was found to have no effect when applied 

 even within five minutes after the bite in the cure of one sort of 

 virus, and within one hour in that of another. These results, he was 

 aware, though derived from experiments upon animals, would weaken 

 the confidence of physicians and patients in the only mode that 

 medicine possesses of preventing the bad eff*ect of a bite from any 

 poisonous animal, where, as is generally the case, some considerable 

 time must elapse before the remedy can be applied. M. Parchappe, 

 accordingly, made several experiments upon dogs, with an extract of 

 nux vomica, all of which go to confirm him in ascribing to cauteriza- 

 tion, a power even greater than that commonly allowed it. — " From 

 these experiments it results, that the immediate amputation or de- 

 struction in the living portion with which the extract of nux vomica 

 has come in contact, has the power of preventing the bad effects of 

 the poison, even when it has been in contact for some time." The 

 author is aware, that there is considerable difference between the 

 virus of animals, and the substance used by him, with reference to 

 their direct and remote effects, but thinks that every one must admit 

 that there is a great analogy between them, is of the opinion, that 

 in both cases the poison remains in the bitten part for a considerable 

 time before it is transmitted to the rest of the body, and that cauteriz- 

 ing should be adopted in all cases where a poisonous bite is even 

 suspected. 



