t. 4 in. | 3 ft. 1 in.
Round Fore-arm. | 2 ft. 2 in. | 2 ft. 10 in.
Height. | 3 ft. 7 in. | 3 ft. 9 in.
Total of ft. and in. | 27 ft. 5 in. | 29 ft. 4 in.
--------------------------------------------------------

The shorter tiger has an advantage of nearly two feet in all-round
measurement.

Sir Joseph Fayrer has also been called in question for his belief
in twelve feet tigers, but what he says is reasonable enough. "The
tiger should be measured from the nose along the spine to the tip
of the tail, as he lies dead on the spot where he fell, before the
skin is removed. _One that is ten feet by this measurement is large,
and the full-grown male does not often exceed this_, though no doubt
larger individuals (males) are occasionally seen, and I have been
informed by Indian sportsmen of reliability that they have seen and
killed tigers over twelve feet in length." ('Royal Tiger of Bengal,'
p. 29).

Sir Joseph Fayrer in a letter to _Nature_, June 27, 1878, brings
forward the following evidence of large tigers shot by sportsmen
whose names are well known in India.

Lieutenant-Colonel Boileau killed a tiger at Muteara in Oude, in 1861,
over 12 feet; the skin when removed measured 13 feet 5 inches.

Sir George Yule has heard once of a 12-foot tiger fairly measured,
but 11 feet odd inches is the largest he has killed, _and that twice
or thrice_.

Colonel Ramsay (Commissioner) killed in Kumaon a tiger measuring 12
feet.

Sir Joseph Fayrer has seen and killed tigers over 10 feet, and one
in Purneah 10 feet 8 inches, in 1869.

Colonel J. Sleeman does not remember having killed a tiger _over_
10 feet 6 inches in the skin.

Colonel J. MacDonald has killed one 10 feet 4 inches.

The Honourable R. Drummond, C.S., killed a tiger 11 feet 9 inches,
measured before being skinned.

Colonel Shakespeare killed one 11 feet 8 inches.

However, conceding that all this proves that tigers do reach
occasionally to eleven and even twelve feet, it does not take away
from the fact that the average length is between nine and ten feet,
and anything up to eleven feet is rare, and up to twelve feet still
more so.[11]

[Footnote 11: Since writing the above I have to thank "Meade Shell"
for the measurements of the skull of a tiger 11 ft. 6 in. The palatal
measurement is 12 inches, which, according to my formula, would give
only 10 ft. 8 in.; but it must be remembered that I have allowed only
3 f