Editorial 



473 



are almost straight, show in the depth of the intervening 

 troughs features approaching those of mastodons. 



For those, however, who cannot get to a Museum, the 

 excellent illustrations given by Mr. Lydekker in the " Royal 

 Natural History " will do almost equally well. It will be 

 realised that for mastication purposes, the molar of either of our 

 existing elephants has advantages of those of the mastodons. 

 It will be seen also that in some features Cliffs elephant 

 approaches the mastodon type, whilst Mastodon Jatidens is 

 nearer the elephant type than some others. It is an interest- 

 ing speculation whether the progressive improvement in the 

 efficiency of the molar teeth, as aids to digestion, may not 

 have exercised an important influence in enabling the genus 

 Elephas to supersede that of Mastodon. It is further not 

 improbable that some change was taking place in vegetation 

 which rendered the more level surface of the elephants' 

 grinders of increasingly greater importance. 



We have ventured to deprecate (p. 483) the too close asso- 

 ciation of Art Galleries with Museums. A Zoological garden 

 and an Aquarium are, however, whenever practicable, very 

 appropriate concomitants. It is, indeed, to be regretted that 

 they are usually kept so far apart. It is not, of course, 

 possible to bring a zoo into a museum, but to place a museum 

 in a garden would be not only feasible but very appropriate. 

 It has been attempted both in Paris and in London, but not, 

 we believe, well carried out. Such museums should be in the 

 main educational in type, should illustrate by drawings, 

 photographs and skeletons the habits and anatomical structure 

 of the animals. Perhaps, after all, the same objection which 

 we have urged against art galleries would again apply here. 

 The living animals would compete too successfully with the 

 skeletons. 



There is, however, a type of Zoo-Museum which we have 

 never seen attempted, which might be made very attractive 



