GEOLOGICAL POSITION OF EOLITHS 165 
In the case of Lions the decrease is very marked indeed. 
Whereas in former years a number >of fine adult Lions’ skins 
with full black mane were brought to London and elsewhere, 
say twenty-five to fifty skins yearly, now such skins are offered 
so rarely that prices from ^100 to .^200 are often reached. 
A few of the wild animals formerly hunted for their skins 
have been bred in recent years more or less successfully in 
captivity within restricted areas, or on special farms, viz., the 
Buffalo, Silver Fox, Blue Fox, White Fox, Mink and Skunk. 
Concerning the annual toll of the royal Tigers, Leopards 
and Snakes taken in British India, an interesting fact has been 
brought to light by the recent statistics. It appears that the 
number of these animals caught was, curiously enough, just 
about the same as that of the human beings who were killed 
by them. There is, of course, the unavoidable decrease brought 
about by the spread of civilisation, and the consequent cultiva- 
tion of forests and vast regions, formerly uninhabited. 
In conclusion, it may be said that, of the large number of 
fur-bearing animals known to commerce, there appears to be at 
present no species of which serious shortages are anticipated 
in the near future. This, happily, will continue if the protective 
legislation already existing in several countries is maintained, 
and perhaps extended to the animals specially referred to above. 
The Council of the Selborne Society, during the many years 
that the writer has been a member of it, has always been ready 
to give its attention and support to the different movements 
in this direction. All those interested may be assured that the 
present Council is now, more than ever, closely watching every- 
thing that pertains to the protection of wild animals and plant 
life.' 
THE GEOLOGICAL POSITION OF EOLITHS. 
HE true nature of these flints has been the subject 
of some controversy, for though their tertiary age 
is generally conceded, it has been urged that the 
apparently intentional chipping has been produced 
by purely natural agencies.” — Charles H. Read, in “ A Guide 
to the Antiquities of the Stone Age in the Department of British 
and Mediaeval Antiquities.” 
“ In the Prestwich collection .... are three speci- 
mens, labelled by Prestwich ‘ Palaeolithic implements found with 
plateau gravel specimens, Shoreham, Kent.’ The question, 
therefore, as to whether the Eoliths are natural flints made by 
* This article, which has been written at the request of the Council by Mr. 
C. M. Miihlberg, one of its members, will be reprinted for circulation as a leaflet. 
