A YORKSHIRE NATURALIST 45. 



it was presented by Mr. Beswick. Special attention 

 was at once given to the bones of the skeleton, which 

 were in an extremely rotten condition, owing to the 

 decay and disappearance of the membranous parts, 

 which when present hold together the calcareous 

 elements. It was then suggested, probably by Dr. 

 Harland, one of the most intelligent of the medical 

 men then residing in the town, that these bones should 

 be carefully washed and put into a common laundry 

 boiler filled with a thin solution of glue. This was 

 done, the fire lit and carefully watched, that the 

 precious bones should not be injured by any too- 

 violent ebullition. It fell to my lot to undertake this 

 part of the proceedings. The bones were abso- 

 lutely black, the effect apparently of the tannic or 

 gallic acid contained in the bark of the oak tree, 

 and which had combined with the iron of the clay in 

 which the coffin was embedded. 



The process of boiling was continued for about 

 eight hours, after which the bones were carefully ex- 

 posed to the air, to allow the gelatine to harden. After 

 this, they were articulated as readily as recent bones 

 could have been. The original owner of these bones 

 proved to have been a fellow about six feet in height ; 

 that he was an old man was indicated by the advanced 

 ossification of some of the cartilages of the skeleton, 

 and by the surfaces of his teeth being worn away to 

 an almost uniform flatness ; in all other respects the 

 teeth were in a state of perfect preservation ; the 



