n6 To the River Plate and Back 



have succeeded in so thoroughly bleaching the bones 

 and removing the grease that no odor is perceptible. 

 I asked how this had been accomplished and was shown 

 a large tank in one of the courts, in which I was told 

 that a skilful German preparator had carefully boiled 

 the skeletons in a moderately strong solution of lye, 

 which he diluted from time to time as evaporation took 

 place. He certainly succeeded in performing his task 

 most successfully. 



In the same gallery to the left of the entrance, in 

 which the skeletons of the whales hang from the ceiling, 

 there is a considerable collection of mounted skeletons 

 of recent vertebrates arranged upon the floor. Among 

 them I noted with almost covetous eyes the skeleton of 

 one of the strange niata race of cattle. In these crea- 

 tures there has occurred the same modification of the 

 bones of the cranium and the jaws which has taken 

 place in the bulldog. The bones of the nose and face 

 have become shortened, and the bones of the lower jaw 

 have assumed an upward curve. Charles Darwin in 

 The Voyage of H. M. S. Beagle speaks of having seen 

 living specimens of these animals. He says : 



Their forehead is very short and broad, with the nasal 

 end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their 

 lower jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corre- 

 sponding upward curve; hence their teeth are always 

 exposed. Their nostrils are situated high up and are very 

 open; their eyes project outwards. When walking they 

 carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their hinder 

 legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is 

 usual. Their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned 

 nostrils give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of 

 defiance imaginable. 



According to information obtained by Darwin the 



