NATURAL

Brazils and Lima, as well as in
different parts of Europe.

At this time Lord Shelburne pre-
Tented the largeft of the American
tuflts", and the jaw-bone, and lome
grinders, to the Britilh Pvtullt-um ;
and his lordlhip did me the honour
to fend ‘inc the fmaller tuflt, and two
grinders.

‘I went to four of the principal
‘workers and dealers in ivory, with
whom [law and examined many
hundreds of elephants teeth. Tho’
they all ailiired me, that the real
elephants teeth have often a fpiral
twill, like a cow’s horn, they could
not thew me one tooth lb twilted in
all their collections, when 1 vifited
them. Threeof them did me the
favourto come to my houfe; and

they gave it as their opinion, that"

my two "American talks were ge-
nuine elephants teeth. One of
‘them was even politive that they

-were Africawteeth. Another work-

er in ivory cut through that tufk
which Lord Shelburne gave me.
It proved to be found on the infide.
He allbred me that it was true ele-
-phant'ine ivory; and that v/orkers
i-n ivory "could readily dillinguilh
the genuine, by its grain and tex-
ture, from all other bony fubllartcs
"whatever. He polillied it: we com-
pared it ‘with other pieces or ge-
nuine ivory,‘ and indeed they _ap-
peared to be perfectly fimilar, His

opinion was afterwards confirmed

by another experienced worker in
ivory. Yet their opinion, and
what I faw with “my own eyes, con-
vinced me of this fact only, viz.

“that true or genuine ivory is the

production of two different ani-
mals; and not of the "elephant
alone.

"Having thus-collected all the ma-
terials to which -I could have accefs,

fex, or climate.

H I S T Q R Y. "’
/

I carefully read what the French
Academicians, lVlc-llirs. Bufibntanti
Daubenton, have written 0n this
qnelticn, in the Hilloire Nzturelle,
tom. XL p. ‘d6, Sac. and p. 1a,,
&t'. tom. Xll. p. 63; and lVle_
moircs de l’Acatl. Roy. tits Se.
Ann. i762, p. 206, Iltc. But, m»-
llead of meeting with facts which
could tlifprove my opinion, l found
obfervations and arguments wiuctt
confirm it. One very tnaterial
fact, which Mr. Daubenton fur-
nifhes in fupport of my hypothelis,
is the comparifon ofthe American
thigh-bone with that of a real ele-
phant; both of which he has re-
prefented in figures, which appear
to be done with accuracy. To me
it feems molt evident, that they are
bones of two dillittfi fpecies. The
vail difproportional thicknells of the
American bone, compared with
that of the elephant, is lurely more
than we can attribute to the dilTe-
rent proportions of bones, in the
fame fpecies, which arife from age,
But Mr. Dauben-
ton, to fnpport his hypotheiis, that
the Americanfimur is elephantine,
is obliged to refer the great difpro-
portion in thicknefs to the caufes
above-mentioned; and he allirms
‘that in all other circurnllazices they
are exaflly alike. Nair, to nvy eye,
there is nothing more evident, than
that the tWOflI/zara difiier widely in
the lhape and proportion of the
head; in the length and direéliort
of the neck; and in the figure and,
direction of the great trochanter;
f0 that they have many charaflers,
which prove their belonging to
animals of different fpecies.-

t: may now be fairly prefumed
that the American bones are proved
to be certainly not elephantine;
and whoever is 0f that opinion,

will

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