36 MEMOIR OF PALLAS. 
cians, and of a great number of assistants, whose 
services were to be devoted to the several objects of 
pursuit. To Pallas was entrusted the preparing 
the general instructions for the naturalists, and he 
was gratified with the choice of his more immediate 
associates: on him too was conferred, at his own 
request, the conduct of the expedition to the east 
of the Volga, and towards the extreme parts of 
Siberia. 
Pallas spent the winter previous to his departure 
in Petersburg; and in the midst of his innumerable 
preparations, found time for a multitude of scientific 
labours. He drew up a systematic catalogue of the 
animals in the museum of the Academy of Sciences ; 
he arranged the celebrated collection of Professor 
Breyn of Dantzic, which has been lately purchased 
by Prince Orlof; and prepared for the press six 
additional numbers of the Spicilegia Zoologica, which 
were printed at Berlin, during his absence, under 
the direction of Dr Martin.* The work, however, 
which produced the liveliest sensations at the time, 
was a memoir which was read to the Imperial Aca- 
demy concerning the bones of the great quadrupeds 
which are so often found in Siberia; among which 
he recognized those of the elephant, rhinoceros, buf- 
falo, and many others belonging only to intertropical 
countries, and in quantities which are quite enor- 
mous. These statements raised the attention of all 
the naturalists in Europe to these astonishing ap- 
* These we have not been able to procure. 
