SAXIFRAGA GERANIOIDES. 
267 
alone four hundred and fourteen pounds. The 
skin was of such weight, that it required ten 
persons to transport it to the shore ; and after 
having cleared the ground, upwards of thirty- 
six pounds of hair was collected, which the 
white bears had trodden in while devouring 
the flesh.' 
" A part of the hair of this animal is in the 
Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of 
London. It consists of two sorts, common 
hair and bristles ; and of each there are several 
varieties, differing in length and thickness. 
That remaining fixed in the skin is thick-set 
and crisply curled ; and it is interspersed with 
a few bristles about three inches long, of a 
dark reddish colour. Among the separate 
parcels of hair, are some rather redder than 
the short hair just mentioned, about four 
inches long, and some bristles, nearly black, 
much thicker than horse-hair, and from twelve 
to eighteen inches long. 
" Thus, then, we find that the elephant of 
the north temperate and Arctic zone was in 
most respects exceedingly like the species now 
inhabiting India, and, with the exception of a 
warm woolly and hairy covering, offered but 
little modification of structure. It was said by 
the native who discovered the carcase, that it 
had been so loaded with fat, that the belly 
hung down below the joints of the knees. 
The food of the creature was probably twigs 
and the branches of trees ; and herds of these 
gigantic quadrupeds may possibly have mi- 
grated northwards in warm weather to the 
limits of arboreal vegetation, where from time 
to time individuals were buried either alive, 
or soon after death, in an icy shroud, and 
where the bones of those who died from 
natural or violent causes were also buried and 
preserved in the frozen gravel.'' 
As we have before observed, there is in 
this book nothing that is inconsistent with 
revealed religion, — nothing opposed in reality 
to the Mosaic record of the creation, if we 
make due allowance for the changes, or at 
least modifications, in the generally accepted 
meanings of words. Indeed, the concluding 
words of the volume are impressive, and 
confirmatory of the view we have taken as to 
its general tone. After a general review, the 
author says : — 
" Nor can it be understood as a less noble 
or less striking proof of creative power, that 
in this great plan, according to which our 
globe was created, everything should be fore- 
seen and provided against, that everything 
should succeed in its time and place, that each 
organized being should perform the task 
allotted to it, and retire when its work was 
done, having assisted to carry pn, without 
interruption and without interference, the 
great and uniform system. The perfect rela- 
tion of each animal and vegetable to the time 
and place allotted to it is no less marked and 
certain than that admirable adaptation of every 
part in the individual, which is* known to be 
so necessary to its comfort and even its exis- 
tence. The whole system is one, it is the 
result of one mind, of one will, of one power. 
It is governed by a few simple laws, which 
no power but that Avhich instituted them can 
possibly interfere with, and which, so far as 
we can judge, never have been interfered with. 
It is permitted to man to become acquainted 
by careful observation with some of the 
methods thus adopted, and the laws imposed ; 
and the power being given, it is surely incum- 
bent on him to employ it, humbly indeed, and 
cautiously, but earnestly and with an honest 
desire to discover truth, whatever that truth 
may be, or however it may clash with his pre- 
conceived opinions." 
The work is illustrated with well executed 
engravings, like all similar works published 
by Mr. Van Voorst, and the binding is novel, 
substantial, and elegant. 
SAXIFRAGA GERANIOIDES,. 
(Linnceus,)' 
GERANIUM-LIKE SAXIFRAGE. 
Saxifraga. is a very extensive group of 
small hardy herbaceous plants, of which nearly 
or quite all are worth cultivating in gardens. 
There are at least two hundred reputed 
species, of which some are small tufted plants, 
with finely cut leaves, well adapted for cover- 
ing rock-work, producing short flower stems, 
and always neat and interesting, even when 
not in bloom, from their close habit of growth, 
and lively green colour ; others have broader 
leaves, more or less notched at the edges, and 
grow up with an erect branching flower stem 
from one to two feet high, with numerous, 
though small, and exceedingly pretty flowers; 
of these the London pride — one of the best of 
all for thriving in the smoky atmosphere of 
towns and cities — is a familiar example. 
