1836.] presented to the Asiatic Society's Museum. 181 



over this bone to it with the view of identification, and should the 

 further search prove successful, you will receive specimens of the animal 

 from Lieutenant Baker. 



" The clearing away of the matrix, besides rendering the specimens 

 less cumbrous for transmission, enabled, I should hardly say us, for it 

 was my young friend, here to give names to most of what are now 

 sent. The locality of each I found it impossible to particularize, as 

 the parties, whom I sent out to collect, ranged about in the lower hills, 

 picking up whatever they found, and heaping all together, until they had 

 amassed several cart loads ; but the eastern limits of their search were 

 the branches of the Sombe, which are about due south of the Chur 

 mountain ; and to the west, their search extended to about half way 

 between Ndhan and Pinjdr. The only distinction worth noticing is, 

 that the hard or brown fossils (those mineralized with hydrated oxide 

 of iron) did not come out of the same stratum as the blue and friable 

 (calcareous) ones ; the latter being from the west of Ndhan. You 

 will perceive the difference of the matrix on several of the speci- 

 mens only partially cleared. I have never had leisure to visit the 

 sites myself, and would therefore add nothing on this subject until I. 

 shall have enjoyed the opportunity of a personal inspection." 



The Society will doubtless be eager to do every honor to the munifi- 

 cent donor of these splendid fossils, if it has any real wish to acquire the 

 reputation of possessing a valuable museum. The foundation of our 

 fossil collection was but laid four years ago, and already through the 

 contributions of Colonel Burnet, Dr. Spilsbury, Captain Smith, 

 Mr. Dean, &c. now enriched by Col. Colvin's vast store of speci- 

 mens, it has become necessary to devote an entire apartment to this 

 instructive department of natural history. Our smallest return of 

 gratitude to those who have been at such considerable expence in pro- 

 moting the Society's interests, will be to do honor to what has been so 

 generously bestowed, by making up fit cabinets to exhibit them to the 

 best advantage, and by spreading the knowledge of them as expedi- 

 tiously and widely as possible. 



J. P. Sec. 



Catalogue of Colonel Colvin's Fossil Bones. 

 Mastodon Elephantoides. 



1 Upper jaw, very perfect. 



2 ■ , fragment. 



5-6 Lower jaw, part of the right half. 



7 -, ditto left half. 



8 Symphysis of ditto, (or of elephant.) 

 11 to 26 Fragments of molars, of both jaws. 



31 Axis of a large mastodon ( ?) very perfect. 



32 Cubitus, upper extremity, with olecranon. 



