1837.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 891 



Wollaston medals awarded to Dr. Hugh Falconer and Captain P. T. 

 Cautley, for their fossil discoveries in the Sewalik range. 



Professor Royle was induced to send these tokens of the approbation of the Geo- 

 logical Society (of which he has recently been nominated an office-bearer), thinking 

 his associates in the Asiatic Society would like to see them ; but more particularly 

 because the excellent paper on the Sivatherium was first made public in their 

 Researches, and it would be the best proof of the interest taken by the scientific at 

 home in the novel and interesting discoveries in which so many members of the 

 Society have been successfully engaged within the last four years. 



Dr. Royle quoted the following extract from Mr. Lyell's address delivered 

 at the Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society on the 17th February, 1837. 



[Tiie opening of the address presenting the medals was published in our July 

 No.] 



ORGANIC REMAINS. 



" Gentlemen, you have been already informed that the Council have this year 

 awarded two Wollaston medals, one to Captain Proby Cautley of the Bengal 

 Artillery, and the other to Dr. Hugh Falconer, Superintendent of the Botanic 

 Garden at Saharunpore, for their researches in the geology of India, and more 

 particularly their discovery of many fossil remains of extinct quadrupeds at the 

 southern foot of the Himalaya mountains. At our last Anniversary I took 

 occasion to acknowledge a magnificent present, consisting of duplicates of these 

 fossils, which the Society had received from Captain Cautley, and since that 

 time other donations of great value have been transmitted by him to our museum. 

 These Indian fossil bones belong to extinct species of herbivorous and carnivorous 

 mammalia, and to reptiles of the genera crocodile, gavial, emys, and trionyx, and 

 to several species of fish, with which shells of fresh-water genera are associated, 

 the whole being entombed in a formation of sandstone, conglomerate, marl, ani 

 clay, in inclined stratification, composing a range of hills called the Siwalik, 

 between the rivers Sutledge and Ganges. These hills rise to the height of from 

 500 to 1,000 feet above the adjacent plains, some of the loftiest peaks being 3,000 

 feet above the level of the sea. 



" When Captain Cautley and Dr. Falconer first discovered these remarkable 

 remains their curiosity was awakened, and they felt convinced of their great 

 scientific value ; but they were not versed in fossil osteology, and being stationed 

 on the remote confines of our Indian possessions, they were far distant from any 

 living authorities or books on comparative anatomy to which they could refer. The 

 manner in which they overcame these disadvantages, and the enthusiasm with 

 which they continued for years to prosecute their researches when thus isolated 

 from the scientific world is truly admirable. Dr. Royle has permitted me to 

 read a part of their correspondence with him when they were exploring the Siwalik 

 mountains, and I can bear witness to their extraordinary energy and persever- 

 ance. From time to time they earnestly requested that Cuvier's works on osteo- 

 logy might be sent out to them, and expressed their disappointment when, from 

 various accidents, these volumes failed to arrive. The delay perhaps was fortu- 

 nate, for being thrown entirely upon their own resources,, they soon found a 

 museum of comparative anatomy in the surrounding plains, hills, and jungles, 

 where they slew the wild tigers, buffaloes, antelopes, and other Indian quadrupeds, of 

 which they preserved the skeletons, besides obtaining specimens of all the genera 

 of reptiles which inhabited that region. They were compelled to see and think 

 for themselves while comparing and discriminating the different recent and fossil 

 bones, and reasoning on the laws of comparative osteology, till at length they 

 were fully prepared to appreciate the lessons which they were taught by the works 

 of Cuvier. In the course of their labours they have ascertained the existence of 

 the elephant, mastodon, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, ox, buffalo, elk, antelope, 

 deer, and other herbivorous genera, besides several canine and feline carnivora. 

 On some of these Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley have each written sepa- 

 rate and independent memoirs. Captain Cautley, for example, is the author of an 

 article in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, in which he shows that two of the 

 species of mastodon described by Mr, Clift are, in fact, one, the supposed differ- 



