Notices of Memoirs — Prof. J. CoIIett — On the Mastodon. 373 

 isroTiciBS OIF zMiiEnynoniS. 



I. — On the Existence of the Mastodon in Eecent Times in 

 North America. 



IN his Eeport for 1880, Prof. John Collett, Ph.D., State Geologist 

 of Indiana, says : — Of the thirty individual specimens of the 

 remains of the Mastodon {Mastodon giganteus) found in this State, 

 in almost every case a very considerable part of the skeleton 

 of each animal proved to be in a greater or less condition of 

 decay. The remains have always been discovered in marshes, 

 ponds, or other miry places, indicating, at once, the cause of the 

 death of the animal and the reason of the preservation of the 

 bones from decay. Spots of ground in this condition are found 

 at the summit of the glacial drift or in " old beds " of rivers 

 which have adopted a shorter route and lower level, consequently 

 their date does not reach beyond the most recent changes of the 

 earth's surface ; in fact, their existence was so late that the only 

 query is. Why did they become extinct ? A skeleton was discovered 

 ill excavating the bed of the canal a few miles north of Covington, 

 Fountain County, in wet peat. The teeth were in good preservation, 

 and Mr. Perrin Kent states that when the larger bones were cut 

 open the marrow, still preserved, was utilized b}' the bog cutters to 

 " grease " their boots, and that chunks of sperm-like substance, 2^in. 

 to 3in. in diameter (adipocere), occupied the place of the kidney 

 fat of the monster. During the past summer of 1880, an almost 

 complete skeleton of a Mastodon was found six miles north-west 

 from Hoopston, Iroquois County, 111., which goes far to settle defi- 

 nitely that it was not only a recent animal, but that it survived until 

 the life and vegetation of to-day prevailed. The tusks formed each 

 a full quarter of a circle, were 9ft. long, 22in. in circumference at 

 the base, and in their water-soaked condition weighed 175 pounds. 

 Tlie lower jaw was well preserved with a full set of magnificent 

 teeth, and is nearly 3ft. long. The teeth, as usual, were thickly 

 enamelled, and weighed each from four to five pounds. The leg 

 bones, when joined at the knee, made a total length of 5|^ft., indi- 

 cating that the animal was not less than lift, high, and from 15 to 

 16ft. from brow to rump. On inspecting the remains closely, a mass 

 of fibrous, bark-like material was found between the ribs, filling the 

 place of the animal's stomach ; when carefully separated, it proved 

 to be a crushed mass of herbs and gi-asses, similar to those whicli 

 still grow in the vicinity. In the same bed of miry clay a multitude 

 of small freshwater and land shells were observed and collected, 

 which were kindly determined by Dr. F. Stein, as follows: — 1. 

 Pisidmm, closely resembling P. abditiim, Haldeman. 2. Valvnta 

 tricarinata, Say. 3. Valvota resembling V. striata. 4. Planorhis 

 parvus, Say. The shell-bearing animals prevail all over the States 

 of Illinois, Indiana, and parts of Michigan, and show conclusively 

 that, however other conditions may differ, the animal and vegetable 

 life, and consequently climate, are the same now as when this 

 Mastodon sank in liis grave of mire and c\&y. — English Mechanic, 

 No. 847, June 17, Ittbl. 



