100 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



into the earth : the whole of the tuber remains 

 above ground. This is to be plunged to the rim 

 in the pond, and the gardener has directions to 

 watch its progress, if I should not be here. 



Mary has rfad some plants of the lobelia ful- 

 gens in the conservatory for some time; they were 

 planted in good strong loam, and the pots stand 

 in saucers continually supplied with water ; they 

 have already grown amazingly, and will, I am 

 sure, be five feet high before the flowers are out. 

 But alas ! we shall be away from this dear place 

 when they blossom. 



llth. I had some confused idea that the 

 great fossil animal, which is called the mastodon, 

 was the same as the mammoth ; but my uncle 

 told me to-day, that though the remains of the 

 mastodon have some general resemblance to the 

 elephant, yet there is no doubt that they were 

 quite distinct animals. The bones of the mas- 

 todon have been found in great numbers both in 

 North and South America, but no complete 

 skeletons have yet been put together. A small 

 species of this animal has been discovered in 

 Saxony, as well as in some other parts of Europe ; 

 and naturalists now divide the whole family into 

 five species. The principal points of difference 

 are not only the disposition and shape of the 

 grinding-teeth, but the bulk of the animal ; for 

 the great mastodons that have been found on the 



