341 
Prof. Alilne — Across Europe and Asia. 
the sea cuts its way back inland, lavge quantities of these valnable 
elephantiue remains become exposed. Along the Siberian rivers, 
but especially along the Obi and Lena, immense numbers of these 
remains have been found. The Russians teil one that they are 
often in such preservation that the natives eat of their flesh. Some 
of the Jakutski and Tungusians who collect these bones obtain 20 to 
30 roubles (£3 to £4 10s.) per pood (401bs.) for them. 
The skeleton of Bytina Stelleri, of which the only other example 
is to be found in the Museum of Helsingfors in Finland, I could 
not find in the osteological collection to which the general public 
have access. On explaining my wants, I was treated with every 
kindness, and given facilities for seeing all I wished. The skeleton 
for which I was looking, together with many other skeletons, is kept 
in a chamber below the ordinary floor of the museum, which in 
appearance is not unlike a store-room. 
The skeleton, which represents an animal more than 25ft. long, 
is not ältogether perfect, for the hand bones, if it ever had any, are 
lost, and also one or two of the caudal vertebrte. A portion of the 
large gristly palate with which the creature was provided is also 
preserved. The rough transversely furrowed surface of this, which 
answered the purposes of mastication, is very curious. In places 
where the ribs had been cut into for purposes of examination, 
they showed a fine white texture very like ivory. This specimen 
came from Behring's Isle, which in times past appears to have been 
its central if not its only home. About a hundred years ago it was 
sacrificed, like the Great Auk and many other animals, to the gluttony 
and wants of man, and is now to be regarded as one of the links be- 
tween the past and present so often referred to by geologists at the 
commencement of their labours and historians at the end. 
In the same room as the one in which Bytina Stelleri is standing 
I had an opportunity of taking a passing glance at the skulls of some 
European and Asiatic Beavers. There are many animals inhabiting 
the Old World which bear the same name as those in the New World. 
This has arisen from their general similarity in outward appearance. 
Identities of this sort have been brought, into question by naturalists, 
who, after various examinations, have found certain differences to 
exist between many American species on the one hand and Asiatic 
and European species on the other, and the question apparently to be 
decided, is whether these differences are sufficient to constitute a diflfer- 
ence in species. The case of the Beaver was one that was especially 
brought before my mind during my travels in Newfoundland, where 
my companion, Mr. T. G. B. Lloyd, made a careful study of it, 
and subsequently followed it up with the assistance of all such 
material as could be found in the Museums of Great Britain. 
The result of the comparisons as made, not only by Mr. Lloyd, 
but also by various other investigators, seems to lie in the re- 
lation existing between the length of the nasal bones and the skull. 
Why the rest of the framework of the animal was not taken into 
equally minute consideration I do not know, unless it was from the 
fact that such material was more difiScult to obtain. Mr. Lloyd's 
