some North American Mastodons. 149 



longing to young animals. The most perfect of the two is four- 

 teen inches long from the symphysis to the angle, and contains 

 three teeth on each side. The anterior is a small tooth, the crown 

 of which is about an inch square, having two hills, each of them 

 imperfectly divided into two points. These points are worn, and 

 this tooth bears a resemblance to those in the head of a Hip- 

 popotamus in my collection. The second tooth is about double 

 the size of the first ; it has three hills, the two anterior divided 

 into two points, the posterior is but slightly notched in the mid- 

 dle. The third tooth is double the size of the last, and has like 

 it three hills, each divided into two points. This tooth is, how- 

 ever, buried in the jaw-bone, and was probably during life co- 

 vered by the gum. 



" The most interesting feature in the anatomy of this lower 

 jaw is the existence of two holes at the symphysis, not found in 

 the three other specimens, evidently the sockets of two small 

 tusks. These sockets are an inch and a half deep, and are each 

 of them of sufficient diameter to admit the little finger. The 

 tusks which filled these holes do not exist, but we may suppose 

 them to have been about three inches long, grounding this opi- 

 nion on the diameter and depth of the holes. In other respects 

 this lower jaw does not differ in its anatomical characters from 

 the remainder above mentioned.^^ 



I have extracted the above minutes from my account of the 

 New Jersey Mastodon, because they serve to support and illus- 

 trate the observations you have made on this important topic. 

 They of themselves seem to give a pretty satisfactory view of the 

 dental series in this animal. 



To the statements relating to the osseous fabric of the Mas- 

 todon I will add a few words on the subject of its supposed food. 

 In connexion with the bones found in the State of Virginia, 

 there was said to have been seen in the situation of the stomach 

 and intestinal canal a quantity of bruised twigs, leaves and other 

 vegetable substances, which probably had composed the food of 

 this animal. Similar substances were discovered in a similar 

 relation to the New Jersey Mastodon so often alluded to, and in 

 our Mastodon about six bushels of such matters were seen in the 

 situation of the stomach and intestines. As the position of the 

 animal had not been disturbed when it was discovered, there is 

 satisfactory reason to believe, that there could be no mistake as 

 to the opinion that these were really articles of food. This opi- 

 nion receives additional support from the fact stated by the dis- 

 coverer of the skeleton, that the whole course of the lower intes- 

 tines could be traced by the food. Accompanying this commu- 

 nication 1 send you a small portion of these substances, and also 



