1846.] Central Cavity of the Mastodon. 19 



CENTRAL CAVITY OF THE MASTODON. 



BY J. AUGUSTINE SMITH, M. D., NEW YORK. 

 A paper read before the Lyceum of Natural History, of New York. 



Dr. Hulse procured from Orange county, and deposited in our 

 Museum, the head of the mastodon, which proved to be admi- 

 rably fitted for ascertaining the size of the cerebral cavity in that 

 animal. The cranium has been accordingly used for that purpose, 

 and has furnished for the first time, within my knowledge, the 

 means of determining an interesting point in comparative ana- 

 tomy. 



The individual, it may be premised, w-as a perfect adult — was 

 supposed to have been above ten feet in height — and had been 

 found in a peaty soil. It lay so near the surface, that the year 

 before, a laborer, in cultivating the field, had struck one of the 

 bones w^ith his ploughshare. The creature is conjectured to have 

 lost its life from being unable to extricate itself from the mire 

 into which it had sunk — a mishap, by the way, that in appear- 

 ance, has terminated the existence of almost every specimen, of 

 which the skeleton has been discovered and obtained. To this 

 rule, however, the cases of Hackett's Town, New Jersey, are 

 complete exceptions. For here the remains of several of these 

 monstrous creatures were found in a pond, not much surpassing 

 in extent a large room. And, furthermore, the exhibitor of the 

 mounted skeleton in this city, assured me, after being strictly 

 questioned, that one of the animals had died with his legs drawn 

 up under his body, and that another had manifestly expired lying 

 on his back. In these instances, therefore, death could not have 

 been the result of sinking so deeply into a bog that escape was 

 impracticable. 



When the skull procured by Dr. Hulse, was forwarded to the 

 Lyceum, at its superior and anterior surface, the outer table was 

 entirely wanting, but the inner was perfect. The immediate bony 

 covering of the brain formed a dome so flat that the cerebrum 



