132 REPORT OF THE 



behold, at the present day, these changes in all stages of 

 progress. 



The beaver and the niuskrat may exert some agency in the 

 inundation and drainage of lands, but a few observations upon 

 the borders of our lakes will suffice to show that they are by 

 no means the principal agents. 



The beds of marl and peat thus accumulated constitute almost 

 exhaustless repositories of nutritive matter for the recuperation 

 of the hill-side soils, that have been exhausted of their soluble 

 ingredients by the leaching rains, and an improvident system 

 of farming. A consideration of the manner of preparing and 

 applying these materials would be exceedingly interesting, but 

 must be postponed for a final report. 



Imbedded in these accumulations of marl and peat, are found 

 the remains of the Elephant, Mastodon and Elk, the two former 

 of which are now extinct from the continent, and the latter is 

 only seen rarely in the remoter portions of the State. A frag- 

 ment of a molar of the Mastodon was found by Dr. Miles at 

 Green Oak, in Livingston county. A perfect molar of an ele- 

 phant has been exhumed in ditching in the northern part of 

 Jackson county. Other remains occur in Macomb county. By 

 far the most interesting discovery has been made by Mr. G. M. 

 Shattuck, in the township of Plymouth, in Wayne county. Mr. 

 Shattuck here exhumed nearly an entire set of teeth of a Mas- 

 todon, including a piece of one of the tusks several feet in 

 length. Some of these remains were in too friable a condition 

 to be preserved, and others were injured by the injudicious 

 handling of visitors. I have only had the opportunity as yet, 

 of seeing five teeth. These prove to be the molar teeth from 

 the lower jaw of Mastodon giganteus, three being from the left 

 side and two from the right. The anterior one from the left 

 side, is the single permanent premolar, and the posterior two, 

 like the two on the right side, are the first and second true 

 molars — the third, which is the largest of all, not appearing to 

 have been developed at the time of the animal's death. These 

 teeth are all in a beautiful state of preservation, still retaining 



