202 



Miscellanies. 



then N. E., until it strikes the Mississippi river at Baton Rouge. It then 

 continues on the eastern side of this river up to Vicksburg, forming the 

 steep bluffs on the eastern side ; it then crosses the river, and extending 

 across the country, strikes the Red river at Alexandria ; from thence it 

 passes down southward, its eastern boundary being almost exactly parallel 

 with the Bayou Boeuf, lying altogether W. 

 of this river, and continuing on to the sea, 

 but inclining more to the westward after 

 it reaches the parish of Attakapas. This 

 is the formation over which the prairies are 

 found. It consists first of clay, composed 

 of aluminous clay and sand in various pro- 

 portions, sometimes almost without grit; 

 next of a layer of rolled pebbles ; then a 

 layer of sand ; then a layer of aluminous 

 clay, varied red and white, sometimes in 

 nodules of irregular form ; then quicksand ; 

 and then a similar layer of variegated alu- 

 minous clay. The fossils generally found 

 are not in situ, but are confined to the rolled 

 pebbles, which contain impressions of shells, 

 encrinites, and asterias ; they are (no doubt) 

 quartz replacements of lime. 



The fossils above alluded to were found in the first layer, beneath the 

 vegetable mould, that is, in the sandy clay. They were — First : a masto- 

 don's molar tooth, corresponding exactly with that figured in Cuvier's Os- 

 semens Fossiles, third edition, Vol. I, Plate 1st for Mastodon, Fig. 1. This 

 tooth weighs Ql pounds. Second : a part of the right lower jaw, contain- 

 ing two teeth of the mastodon, but evidently a very young animal, as they 

 were not at all worn ; the whole weighs eight pounds. These teeth have 

 only three ridges transverse. These were found about a mile apart. 

 Thirdly : a molar, somewhat similar to the first, but much larger, and the 

 transverse ridges of the crown, which were four, are worn down almost 

 smooth ; weighs 12 pounds. Fourthly : a tooth which was found with this 

 last, (about two miles from the two first.) It is the third molar of the up- 

 per right jaw of a horse. A drawing of the crown, and oblique view of 

 two sides, is given at Fig. 1 ; the outer side of the tooth is shown at Fig. 

 2 ; the front side at Fig. 3. 



There are some slight deviations from the common forms of the festoons 

 of the enamel upon the crown ; but differences frequently are found in the 

 forms of these in living horses. From c to d, (Fig. 1.) measures an inch 

 and a quarter ; from d iof, (Figs. 1 and 3.) it measures 3| inches, though 

 all of the hollow or shelly parts of the roots are gone, which in common 



