Quadrupeds. 1589 



On the discovery of the Bones of Extinct Deer, fyc. at Lough Gur, 

 in the county of Limerick. By Richard Glennon, Esq. 



Being a constant reader of the ' Zoologist,' and finding in it so 

 many curious and interesting communications on various branches of 

 Natural History, I am induced to trouble you with a few facts that 

 have lately come under my notice. Having occasion a short time 

 since to visit Limerick, in company with my friend, Mr. Nolan, we 

 embraced the opportunity which the journey afforded us, of searching 

 for the remains of that most interesting animal which has been 

 so often misnamed the " fossil " or antediluvian deer of Ireland, and 

 the particulars which resulted from our labours, and which I am about 

 to detail, will, I trust, throw more light on the period of its existence 

 than anything previously published on this interesting subject, and 

 will thoroughly establish the fact of its having been slaughtered by 

 man for his use and food. The history of this remarkable animal has 

 hitherto been taken only from the hear-say of common labourers, who 

 on finding the bones, threw them indiscriminately in a heap on the 

 nearest bank ; and as they were always found mixed with the bones of 

 other animals, as the red-deer, and cattle of various breeds and sizes, 

 it can scarcely be wondered at that so many errors have occurred in 

 selecting bones to complete the skeletons supplied to various public 

 institutions. I have learned that the skeleton of a cow was made up 

 from a heap of these bones, and sold to a public body in London as 

 that of the female giant-deer, and the mistake was eventually detected 

 by a talented officer of the institution. 



We searched and dug wherever the slightest trace of information 

 respecting the presence of bones could be obtained, and in one 

 instance, our efforts were attended with the most eminent success. 

 We found the bones of five varieties of the cow or ox, five of the deer, 

 two of the goat, and two of the hog or pig, together with those of the 

 hare or rabbit, swan, goose, duck, turkey, and of several game birds. 

 The tusks of the boar were so numerous that they might be shovelled 

 up like gravel in a gravel -pit. 



The skulls of all the large animals were broken in by some sharp 

 and heavy instrument, and in the same manner as butchers of the 

 present day slaughter cattle for our markets, and in many instances 

 the marrow-bones were broken across, as if to get at the marrow. 

 Such was the enormous quantity of these bones, that the country 



