DINOSAURS. 
95 
had been inserted into the centre of the specimen, so that the 
mass of stone containing it had been shattered into many pieces, 
some of which were blown into the adjoining fields ! All these 
pieces he had carefully collected, and, proceeding with equal 
ardour and success to the removal of the matrix from the fossils, 
he succeeded, after a month’s labour, in exposing them to view, 
and in fitting the fragments in their proper place. This valuable 
specimen was presented to Dr. Mantell (and afterwards purchased 
with the rest of his collection by the British Museum), and its 
present condition is the result of his skill, as well as that of its 
discoverer. Certain gentlemen in Brighton, anxious that the 
specimen should be placed in the hands of the original discoverer 
of Iguanodon, purchased and presented it to Dr. Mantell — a 
tribute of respect which was highly gratifying to him. (Wall- 
case 6.) 
It belonged to a young Iguanodon. This fortunate discovery 
was one of those Cuvier foresaw, and has served to verify his 
sagacious conjecture that some of the great bones collected by 
the doctor from the Wealden strata of Sussex belonged to the 
same animal, and to confirm other conclusions formed by the 
discoverer of the Iguanodon. Great was Dr. Mantell’s delight 
on finding that every bone he had ascribed to Iguanodon solely 
from analogy was present in the Maidstone specimen. One of 
the chief advantages of this discovery w'as that it afforded 
demonstration of the characters of the vertebrae, which, as 
previously stated, are very important to the anatomist. Of these 
Professor Owen has given full descriptions, and has shown that 
they differ from those of any animal previously known, whether 
living or extinct. 
It is very interesting, in the light of recent discoveries, to 
read the conclusions arrived at by Mantell and Owen, with 
regard to the organisation of this great Wealden reptile, and to 
see how, with the exception of certain details, they have been 
confirmed. Considering the imperfect nature of the materials at 
