"And, above all others, we should protect and hold sacred those types, Nature's masterpieces, which are first singled out for destruction on account of their size, or splendour, or rarity, and that false detestable glory which is accorded to their most successful slayers. In ancient times the spirit of life shone brightest in these; and when others that shared the earth with them were taken by death they were left, being more worthy of perpetuation. Like immortal flowers they have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where man was not: and when they perish, something of the gladness goes out of nature, and the sunshine loses something of its brightness."--W. H. Hudson, in _The Naturalist in La Plata_. Among the extinct animals of prehistoric times the "Great Irish Elk,"[77] as it is generally called, deserves special notice, both from the enormous size of its antlers, and from the fact that its remains are exceedingly plentiful in Ireland. [77] The term "Elk" is misleading, for it is not an elk (_alces_) at all, but a true _Cervus_ (stag). It should be called "the Great Irish Deer." This magnificent creature, so well depicted by our artist (Plate XXV.), was, however, by no means confined to Ireland; its remains are found in many parts of Great Britain, particularly in cave deposits, and also on the Continent. Some writers think that it was contemporary with men in Ireland; it may have been so, but at present the question cannot be considered as proved. Mr. R. J. Ussher, who found its remains in a cave near Cappagh, Cappoquin, thinks he has obtained evidence to show that it was hunted by man at the time when he hunted reindeer in this part of Europe, but the age of the strata containing the remains is doubtful. Again, there is a rib in the Dublin Museum with a perforation which is sometimes taken to be the result of a wound from a dart, arrow, or spear; but the wound may have been inflicted by one of the sharp tynes in a fight between two bucks.