48 MR. OLDPIELD THOMAS ON MAMMALS [Feb. 4, 



indefinite in relationship, we liave the following characteiistically 

 Jaj)anese forms : — 



Urotrichus talpoicles adversus. No Z/roiHcA^ts recorded from Korea. 

 Martes 'inelamjnis tsuensis. No Mai-ten of this type known 



from Korea. 

 A2)odemus sj^eciosus speciosits. Replaced in Korea by the very 



different A. s.peninsulce. 

 „ geisha sagax. A. geisha common in Japan, absent 



from Korea. 

 (No A. agrarius. Dominant in Korea, absent from 



Japan.) 



On the other hand, the Korean forms are : — 



Crocidura coreoi. Replaced in Japan by C.cZs^-J^e2;^tm^. 



Fells microtis. No Cat of any sort known in Japan. 



Lutreola sibirica. Replaced in Japan by Z, itatsi. 



The balance even in mere numbers is thus on the side of the 

 Japanese relationship of Tsu-shima. But further it is to be noted 

 that three out of the four animals with Japanese affinities belong 

 to special local subspecies, indicating that they are certainly in- 

 digenous, having been in the islands long enough to get more or 

 less modified. On the other hand, all the Korean forms are 

 identical with their mainland relatives and have perhaps been 

 accidentally introduced through hxinian agency. 



Mr. Anderson's notes on the physical features of the islands 

 are as follows : — 



" Notes oil Tsu-shima. 



"Tsu-shima (literally Opposite Island) consists in reality of two 

 main islands, the southern being called Shimono, the northern 

 Kamino-shima. The two are se]3arated by a narrow channel only, 

 which, I am told, is sometimes dry at low tide. Both islands 

 are hilly throughout, the highest point being 2100 ft. The hills 

 are steep and their soil very thin, so, as the valleys are exceedingly 

 narrow, arable land is scarce indeed, and the population almost 

 entirely restricted to the fishing-villages on the coasts. The hills 

 are wooded, especially in Kamino-shima, where pines, oaks, 

 Cryptomeria, Chanifecyparis, and Oamelia are the principal trees. 

 Precipitation is abundant, but, owing to the shortness of the 

 streams and the stony nature of the soil, which is composed of 

 fragments of shale, the brooks are usually dry, especially at 

 their lower ends ; it is only during, or just after, a heavy rainfall 

 that their water reaches the sea. 



" Tsu-shima is surrounded by a few islets of no importance. 

 The nearest land is Iki, 32 miles to the south-east, but the 

 Korean mainland is not more than foui- or five miles farther, 

 while some considerable islands of the Korean Archipelago are 

 less than forty miles from Kamino. Between Shimono-shima and 



