17. _Fossil Elephant and Mastodon from Africa._--M. Gervais communicated to the French Academy, on March 12th, that he had just received from Algiers, a drawing of the molar tooth of a fossil elephant, whose genus is very easily recognised, and which indicates a species more resembling those found in a fossil state in Europe, than the present African elephant. This tooth was found at Cherchell, in the province of Oran. Sicily has hitherto been the southernmost point on the Mediterranean where the fossil elephant has been found. At the same time, he also mentioned the discovery, near Constantine, of some fossil remains of mastodons. Though fossil remains of this animal have been previously found in all the other portions of the world, these are the first discovered in Africa. The remains found are a tooth and a rib, and, as far as can be judged from a drawing, they belonged to an animal more resembling the mastodon brevirostris, or the arvernensis, than the mastodon angustodens.--_American Journal of Scientific Discovery_, p. 287. 18. _Cauterization in the case of Poisonous Bites._--In the _Comptes Rendus_ for January 8th, we find an article by M. Parchappe, containing the result of his observations on the question, whether the spread of poison produced by a bite can be prevented by cauterizing. He was induced to examine into this subject, because M. Renard had stated that cauterization was found to have no effect when applied even within five minutes after the bite in the cure of one sort of virus, and within one hour in that of another. These results, he was aware, though derived from experiments upon animals, would weaken the confidence of physicians and patients in the only mode that medicine possesses of preventing the bad effect of a bite from any poisonous animal, where, as is generally the case, some considerable time must elapse before the remedy can be applied. M. Parchappe, accordingly, made several experiments upon dogs, with an extract of nux vomica, all of which go to confirm him in ascribing to cauterization, a power even greater than that commonly allowed it.--"From these experiments it results, that the immediate amputation or destruction in the living portion with which the extract of nux vomica has come in contact, has the power of preventing the bad effects of the poison, even when it has been in contact for some time." The author is aware, that there is considerable difference between the virus of animals, and the substance used by him, with reference to their direct and remote effects, but thinks that every one must admit that there is a great _analogy_ between them, is of the opinion, that in both cases the poison remains in the bitten part for a considerable time before it is transmitted to the rest of the body, and that cauterizing should be adopted in all cases where a poisonous bite is even suspected.