172 



The other specimen of which he spoke was that of a woodchuck, 

 presented to the Peabody Academy by D. W. Smead, Esq., who found 

 it in the Adirondack region. This skull showed a singular abnormal 

 growth of the two incisor teeth of the upper jaw. The right incisor 

 had been forced somewhat from its proper line of growth, and was 

 about three times its normal length, while the left incisor had con- 

 tinued to grow in the line of the natural curve of the tooth, and had 

 made a complete circle, passing through the bones of the roof of the 

 mouth, and curving nnder the nasal bone, had passed through the 

 premaxillary bone, penetrating it at the side of its original position, 

 and had continued to grow in its circle until it had again penetrated 

 the bones of the roof of the mouth and was just passing through the 

 premaxillary a second time, when the animal died, probably from 

 starvation. In explaining how this extraordinary growth had taken 

 place, Mr. Putnam gave an account of the formation, structure and 

 growth of the incisor teeth of the Kodents, and showed how by the 

 constant wcai'iug away of the softer parts of the incisor teeth on the 

 inside surfaces of the teetli of the upper and under jaws, the teeth 

 were kept constantly sharpened, and their edges worn away as fast 

 as the gi'owth took place, and how in case of injury or loss of the 

 two opposing teeth in the under jaw, an abnormal growth would take 

 place as in the case of the specimen in hand. 



The President then introduced Mr. William Mayxahd, o^ Montreal, 

 stating that his lecture would be highly interesting to the tanners and 

 curriers of the city, and referring in complimentary terms to the 

 editor of "Tlie Hide and Leather Interest," who had spent some time 

 in Salem last summer, and had published a considerable amount of in- 

 teresting historical information with regard to the tanneries of Salem, 

 which had been reprinted in the Salem papers. 



Mr. Maynard then addressed the audience as follows : — 

 The earliest authentic account that we have of the employment of 

 means for curing, preserving and tanning leather, is found in the his- 

 tory of the Egyptian people. They, it seems, steeped the skins la a 

 bath made of meal and water, for a few days. This softened the 

 fibrine and gluten, as also the albumen of hide, and served also to 

 expel the scrum, etc. The hides were then submitted to the influ- 

 ence of a strong decoction, or more probably the expressed juice of 

 the Periploca sycamone, generally known as the Devil's Weed, found 

 in great abundance at the present day upon tlie plains of Arabia, and 

 used by the people of those sections for a similar purpose at the pres- 

 ent day, namely, to depilate and prepare the skin for preservation 

 — which may be termed the combination process — as they use flour, 

 oil, native kalium and a decoction made from a species of Quercus 



