THE MASTODON 211 



graphs of various skeletons of mastodons, Mr. 

 Gleeson made the restoration which accom- 

 panies this chapter. 



As for the size of the mastodon, this, like 

 that of the mammoth, is popularly much over- 

 estimated, and it is more than doubtful if any 

 attained the height of a full-grown African 

 elephant. The largest femur, or thigh-bone, 

 that has come under the writer's notice was 

 one he measured as it lay in the earth at 

 Kimmswick, and this was just four feet long, 

 three inches shorter than the thigh-bone of 

 Jumbo. Several of the largest thigh-bones 

 measured show so striking an unanimity in 

 size, between 46 and 47 inches in length, that 

 we may be pretty sure they represent the aver- 

 age old " bull " mastodon, and if we say that 

 these animals stood ten feet high we are 

 probably doing them full justice. An occa- 

 sional tusk reaches a length of ten feet, but 

 seven or eight is the usual size, with a diameter 

 of as many inches, and this is no larger than 

 the tusks of the African elephant would grow 

 if they had a chance. It is painful to be 

 obliged to scale down the mastodon as we have 



