Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/92

MAMMOTH the pulp, like that of an apricot, it is called by in -h .if.rirot sauvage. This fruit is oc- casionally brought to our seaport cities, but rarely in an eatable condition. The seeds, Mammce Apple. which are sometimes as large as hen's eggs, are used as anthelmintics, and an aromatic liquor called eau de Creole is distilled from the flow- ers. The tree belongs to the natural order of guttiferce. Browne ("Natural History of Ja- maica," London, 1756) speaks of the species as among the largest trees of Jamaica, and esteemed among the best timber trees. It has been observed that no one can behold this tree towering above a cluster of fruit trees without a sentiment of respect for it. The maminee tree has become naturalized in some parts of Africa, where it produces excellent fruit. Two or three other species, natives of tropical Asia, are known to botanists. MAMMOTH, the fossil elephant of Siberia (elephas primigeniu*, Blumenbach), found in Mammoth (Elephas primigenlun). the diluvial strata of Europe and Asia, and P-il,:ij>s also in North America. Large fossil u>re alluded to by Theophrastqs, Pliny, and many ancient authors, and were general- ly supposed to be the remains of giant men. They are abundant in the drift of central and northern Europe, mingled with the bones of other pachyderms, principally in river basins ; in Great Britain, in the Kirkdale cavern of Yorkshire ; in Sweden and Norway ; but most abundantly in the frozen region of European and Asiatic Russia, about the mouths of riv- ers descending into the icy sea; there is in- deed hardly a river in Siberia in whose bed or on whose banks these "remains have not been found, as well as in the neighboring plains, in connection with bones of other animals now strangers to the climate ; they are not found in the elevated districts. . In Siberia fossil ivory is so abundant and so well preserved that it gives rise to a considerable traffic both for home and foreign use. The most remarkable discovery in relation to the mammoth was the occurrence of a carcass found by a Tungus fisherman in a block of ice on the border of the Arctic sea in 1799, near the river Lena; in the course of Skeleton of Mammoth. a few years this immense mass was thawed out, and it was found to be an elephant having the flesh and soft parts well preserved, with the exception of such portions as had been de- voured by bears, dogs, and other carnivorous animals ; the tusks were very fine, weighing 300 Ibs., and were removed by the fisherman. In 1806 Mr. Adams, travelling for the museum of St. Petersburg, visited the locality and collected the remains, which were transported to St. Petersburg, where this skeleton now is, with many others, in a nearly perfect condi- tion ; he ascertained that the skin had an abun- dant covering of hair and wool, indicating that it was fitted to resist a cold climate. It is evi- dent that the climate of Siberia during the di- luvial period was not like that of the regions now inhabited by elephants ; it must have been moderately cold, though such as would permit the growth of a vegetation more luxuriant than any in the present arctic regions, and sufficient for the nourishment of these bulky animals. Another more recently discovered specimen allowed even a microscopic examination of the tissues. The following are the differences be-