e as the traveller
advances northwards, and are replaced by the grey mosses and
lichens that cover the low marshy 'tundras.' The maximum winter
cold, registered by Admiral Von Wrangel at Nishne Kolymsk, on
the banks of the Kolyma, is--65 deg. in January. 'Then breathing
becomes difficult; the Reindeer, that citizen of the Polar region,
withdraws to the deepest thicket of the forest, and stands there
motionless as if deprived of life;' and trees burst asunder with
the cold. Throughout this area roam Elks, Black Bears, Foxes,
Sables, and Wolves, that afford subsistence to the Jakutian and
Tungusian fur-hunters. In the northern part countless herds of
Reindeer, Elks, Foxes, and Wolverines make up for the poverty
of vegetation by the rich abundance of animal life. 'Enormous
flights of Swans, Geese, and Ducks arrive in the spring, and seek
deserts where they may moult and build their nests in safety.
Ptarmigans run in troops amongst the bushes; little Snipes are
busy along the brooks and in the morasses; the social Crows seek
the neighbourhood of new habitations; and when the sun shines
in spring, one may even sometimes hear the cheerful note of the
Finch, and in autumn that of the Thrush.' Throughout this region
of woods, a hardy, middle-sized breed of horses lives under the
mastership and care of man, and is eminently adapted to bear the
severity of the climate.... The only limit to their northern
range is the difficulty of obtaining food. The severity of the
winter through the southern portion of this vast wooded area is
almost compensated for by the summer heat and its marvellous
effect on vegetation."--(Dawkins, 'Monograph of Pleistocene
Mammalia.')

Finally, a few words must be said as to the occurrence of the
remains of Man in Post-Pliocene deposits. That Man existed in
Western Europe and in Britain during the Post-Pliocene period, is
placed beyond a doubt by the occurrence of his bones in deposits
of this age, along with the much more frequent occurrence of
implements of human manufacture. At what precise point of time
during the Post-Pliocene period he first made his appearance is
still a matter of conjecture. Recent researches would render
it probable that the early inhabitants of Britain and Western
Europe were witnesses of the stupendous phenomena of the Glacial
period; but this cannot be said to have been demonstrated. That
Man existed in these regions during the Post-Glacial division
of Post-Pliocene time c