1826.] ' Scientific Notices — Zuologij. 30!7 



exceeds that of the other classes, and the spines of the dorsal 

 rise to a foot in height. The necessity of these bones being so 

 marked is obvious, considering the strong cervical ligament, and 

 powerful muscles, required for supporting and moving a head 

 which, at a moderate calculation, must have sustained a weight 

 of three quarters of a hundred of solid bony matter. The extre- 

 mities are in proportion to the different parts of the trunk, and 

 present a conformation favourable to a combination of great 

 strength with fleetness. It is not the least remarkable circum- 

 stance connected with these bones, that they are in such a high 

 state of preservation as to present all the lines and impressions 

 of the parts which had been attached to them in the recent 

 state. Indeed if we examine them as compared with the bones 

 of an animal from which all the softer parts have been separated 

 by maceration, the only perceptible differences in their physical 

 properties are, that they are a little heavier, a degree harder, 

 that their surface is brown, and that they all, with the exception 

 of the horns, present a polished appearance, which is owing to 

 the periosteum having been preserved, and still remaining to 

 cover them as was discovered when they were chemically 

 examined. The existence of fat or adipocire in the shaft of one 

 of the bones mentioned by Archdeacon Maunsell, and which I 

 saw in his possession, is a thing for which it is extremely difficult 

 to account, as it occurred but in one solitary instance, and it 

 did not appear that this bone was at all differently circumstanced 

 from the rest. Those which I had an opportunity of examining, 

 by boring holes in them, were hollow, and contained for the 

 most part only a small quantity of black animal earth. I 

 requested my friend Mr. W. Stokes to make an analysis of a 

 small fragment of a rib, which he found to contain the following 

 constituents : 



Animal matter 42*87 



Phosphates, with some fluates 4o-45 



Carbonate of lime 9*14 



Oxides 1-02 



Silica M4 



Water and loss o . . . 2'3y 



100-00 



With a view to ascertain the state of the animal matter, I had 

 a portion of bone submitted to cheuiical examination by my 

 friend Dr. Apjohn, at the laboratory of the New Medico-Chirur- 

 gical School, Park-street, of the result of which he gave me the 

 subjoined statement: 



" I regret that time did not permit my making a more parti- 

 cular examination of the Moose-Deer bone, which was left by 

 you at my laboratory. Knowing that you were iu possession pf 



