LINNEAK SOCIETY Or LONDON. XCIU 



The researches thus begun were followed about the end of 1834 

 by the discovery by Lieutenants Baker and Durand of the great 

 ossiferous deposit of the Sewaliks, near the valley of Markunda. 

 Cautley and Ealconer were immediately in the field ; and by the 

 joint labours of these four officers a subtropical Mammalian fossil 

 fauna was brought to light, unexampled for richness and extent. 

 It included the earliest-discovered Quadrumana, numerous new 

 forms of Proboscidia, extinct species of Mliinoceros, Ghalicothe- 

 riwm, Ijg[ims, and Hipparion.^ Sexaprotodon, Hippofotamus and 

 Merycopotamus , Sus, and Sippohyus, the gigantic Sivathermm, 

 several species of Camel, Grirafte, and new types of Bovidce, &c., 

 &c., also numerous fossil bones of birds and reptiles, amongst 

 whichi was the enormous Colossochelys Atlas, &c. Thrown sud- 

 denly upon such rich materials, the ordinary aids in their deter- 

 mination by comparison were wholly wanting to the discoverers. 

 But Ealconer was not the man to be baffled by sucli discourage- 

 ments. He appealed at once to the living forms around him to 

 supply the information he required ; and this was made available 

 by him and his indefatigable coadjutor in the preparation of a 

 series of memoirs descriptive of the more remarkable of the newly 

 discovered forms, which appeared in the volumes of the ' Asiatic 

 Kesearches,' the ' Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' 

 and in the ' Greological Transactions.' The Sewalik explorations 

 soon attracted the notice of European palaeontologists and geolo- 

 gists, and in 1837 the Wollaston Medal in duplicate was deser- 

 vedly awarded to Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley. At the same 

 time the duties of his office as Superintendent of the Botanic 

 G-arden were not neglected. In 1834 a commission was appointed 

 by the Bengal Grovernment to inquire into and report upon the 

 fitness of India for the growth of the tea-plant. Acting on the 

 information and advice supplied by Dr. Falconer *, the commission 

 recommended a trial. The recommendation was carried out by 

 the establisliment of experimental nurseries, which were placed 

 under Dr. Falconer's superintendence, and in sites selected by 

 him. 



In 1837 Dr. Falconer was ordered to accompany Burnes's second 

 mission to Caubul, which preceded the Affghan war. In the pro- 

 secution of this mission, he proceeded at first westward to Kohat 

 and the lower part of the valley of Bunguish ; and afterwards, in 

 company with Lieutenant Macteson, he journeyed to Cashmere, 



* Journ. As. Soc. Beng, 1834, iii. p. 182. 



