members of the American Association of Conchologists, was born about 1833, and removed to Bloomington, Ill., when twenty-two years old. He retired from business "with a snug fortune" after seventeen years of dealing in drugs. During this time he imbibed a taste for natural history, and after his retirement devoted his entire time and the proceeds of his large estate to the gathering and collecting of specimens. After Mrs. Lichtenthaler's death, without children, about ten years ago, he turned his attention more than ever to his chosen work. He died in San Francisco, Cal., February 20, 1893. He was a true amateur, and never sold a specimen or labored for hire, but was always ready to exchange specimens or give duplicates to persons who would appreciate them. In leaving his collection to the Illinois Wesleyan University he took care that his wife's name should be associated with his in the title given it.
The Giraffe.—The giraffe is described by E. Lydekker as the sole living representative of a separate family of the group of ruminant ungulates. It owes its height mainly to an enormous elongation of two of the bones of the legs, combined with a corresponding lengthening of the vertebræ of the neck. Its long neck has no more vertebrae than the neck of the hippopotamus or the extremely short neck of the whale. But while the bones of the whale and hippopotamus are broad and short, those of the giraffe are long—ten inches in full-grown animals—and slender. Accurate information is wanting as to the extreme height attained by the giraffe, but specimens of seventeen and eighteen feet have been described. The most distinctive structural peculiarity of the animal is in the nature of its horns, which take the form of upright bony projections from the top of the head, wholly covered with skin, and are unlike those of any other living ruminant. The giraffe's place in the animal kingdom seems to be between those of the deer and the antelopes; "while, as neither of these three groups can be regarded as the direct descendant of either of the other two, it is clear that we must regard all three as divergent branches of some ancient common stock." Of external features, the giraffe has not those lateral or spinous hoofs which are present in most ruminants. The large size and prominence of the eyes and the extensibility of the tongue are noticeable features The long tail, terminating in a large tuft of black hairs, is a feature unlike any in the deer, though it recalls certain points in the antelopes. "Somewhat stiff and ungainly in its motions—the small number of vertebræ not admitting the graceful arching of the neck characterizing the swan and the ostrich the giraffe is in all parts of its organization admirably adapted to a life on open plains dotted over with tall trees, upon which it can browse without fear of competition by any other living creature. Its wide range of vision affords it timely warning of the approach of foes; from the effect of sand-storms it is protected by the power of automatically closing its nostrils; while its capacity of existing for months at a time without drinking renders it suited to inhabit waterless districts." When seen away from its habitual surroundings the spots of the giraffe make it seem very conspicuous; but among the tall mimosas in which they feed, "giraffes are the most inconspicuous of all animals; their mottled coats harmonizing so exactly with the weather-beaten stems and with the splashes of light and shade thrown on the ground by the sun shining through the leaves, that at a comparatively short distance even the Bushman or Caffre is frequently at a total loss to distinguish trees from giraffes or giraffes from trees." The giraffe is now confined to Africa, although in Pliocene times it roamed over parts of southern Europe and Asia. It was known to the Romans of the time of the empire as the camelopard, but was afterward forgotten in Europe till about two hundred years ago. It is much hunted for its skins, which are used in the manufacture of the South African jambok whips, and is in great danger of being driven out of existence.
Negative Evidence from the Caves.—In the papers of the department of Archæology and Paleontology of the University of Pennsylvania, H. C. Mercer describes explorations of caves and other spots which might yield signs, near Trenton, N. J., and in the South, for evidences of Palæolithic man. At Trenton he found "turtlebacks," explainable as "inchoate cache blades of the latest Indian
