FOSSIL ELK OF IRELAND. 497 



parts have been separated by maceration, the only per- 

 ceptible differences in their physical properties are, that 

 they are a little heavier, a degree harder, that their sur- 

 face 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 re- 

 maining to cover them, as was discovered whenj;hey 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. 



Mr Stokes found, in a rib of this animal, 



Animal matter, - 42.87 



Phosphates with some Fluates, - 43.45 



Carb, Lime, 9.14 



Oxides, 1.02 



Silica, 1.14 



Water and loss, *v 2.38 



100.00 



Dr Apjohn of Dublin made the following observations 

 with regard to the animal matter in the bones : 



" The bone was subjected for two days to the action 

 of dilute muriatic acid. When examined at the end 



i i 



