436 TJie American Naturalist. [May, 
author gives the following table of the comparative size of some 
of the fossil mammalia : 
Premier rang Dinotheriiun giganteum 
du Miocene superieure de I'Attique. 
Deuxieme rang Elcphas antiqmis 
du quaternaire (phase chaude) des environs de 
Paris. 
Troisieme rang Elcphas mcridionalis 
du pliocene superieure de Durfort. 
Quatrieme rang Mastodon americamis 
du plistocene des Etats-Unis. 
Cinquieme rang Elcphas priviigcnius 
du plistocene de Siberie (phase froide); et Ele- 
phants actuels. 
The Plistocene Lake of Nebraska.— Prof. J. E. Todd 
{Proceedings Am. Association for Adv. of Science) calls atten- 
tion to several facts, hitherto unpublished, which indicate that 
eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and south-east Dakota 
were occupied by a fresh water lake when the drift first began 
to be deposited in that region. The facts and considerations 
are as follows : 
1 . An extensive deposit of fine sand, containing a few fossil 
bones, overlain in some places by a lead-colored clay without 
pebbles, and some fossiliferous silt resembling loess, is found 
occupying much of the region, especially the lower levels. 
Ten localities were mentioned where these formations have 
been observed, the more notable being at Fairview, Dak., 
Mills Co., Iowa, and Lancaster Co., Neb. A large fossil claw 
of some gigantic mammal {Megalonyx) was shown, which was 
obtained from Mills Co., Iowa, in the sand below the drift. 
2. The occurrence of a stratum of volcanic ashes in such 
position as to show that wide areas were occupied by still 
water, just preceding the deposition of the drifts in some parts 
and during it in others. The localities described and pictured 
were in Knox Co., Neb., and near West Point, Neb. 
3. An objection which may be urged, from the depth of 
the channel of the Missouri River in this region, is removed 
by several facts which go to show that said channel has been 
wholly excavated since the glacial epoch. 
{a). The rock under the present bed is unglaciated and un- 
occupied by drift deposits as has been recently demonstrated 
