The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-01-09
IMMENSE TEETH FOUND.
Interesting Discovery on Farm Near Shrews-
bury, Mass.

tutcicotinS DlSCONcTy OH dr arm near ouFeWb-
bury, Mass.
The farm of Mr.. William u. May
nard is on the main road from Shrews-
bury and mile or more from Shrews-
bury centre. On the farm, easterly of
the buildings. is meadow several
acres in extent and circular in its out
line, and surrounded by hills of mod
crate height, of the general rocky and
gravely nature of the New England
soil. Mr.. Maynard has been excavat-
ing in the centre of this meadow 4
trench five feet or more broad and
about seven feet deep, intending to fill
it with cobble-stones and make blind
drain to improve the field. The work
has been going on for some time,
and the trench is fifty feet or more
in length. The soil excavated is de-
caYed vegetable matter of peaty char
acter. Mr.. Maynard states that h.,
has made several excavations in this
meadow and found a solid bed of rock
at depth of about seven feet. At the
the very bottom of this excavation,
and therefore close to the bedrock,
the workmen have, within a day or
two, found eight huge teeth, besides
numerous fragments of deeayed bone,
indicating the remains of a gigantic
animal. All the teeth have similar
characteristics, but at the same time
there are important variations which
may aid scientists in determining the
age of the remains and the family of
creatures to which they belong. Four
of the teeth are each about 4I by %
inches on their cutting surface and
four or more inches deep, with we'll
defined roots. The surface or chew
ing surface of these teeth is deeply
serrated, each surface showing three
pairs of elevations, with well defined
indentations between each pair, run
ming crossways of the tooth or of the
mouth, while the depression between
each two points are less marked.
These serrations are an inch or more
in height, and they are all cased with
hard, bright enamel, OF a blush cast,
as fine and smooth as agate. Their
surfaces show traces of the grinding
they were once called upon to per-
form, and there are in the quartet a
pair whose serrated surfaces fit quite
closely into each other, as though they
were from the upper and under jaw.
There are four other teeth, rather
larger than these, with the same SER
but lacking the roots and the
enamel. Their substance is hard, but
has an appearance like cork in color.
One or more of these seem to be only
the cap or grinding surface of the
teeth from which softer portion had
fallen away. They suggest the root
less first teeth of child in this re-
spcct. Besides the teeth, several
of bone have been found,
but they are too far decayed to justify
any certain inference of their location
n the body. They are thin shells,
'ome of them appearing like portions
If the skull, while one is section of |
/ cylinder three inches or more in
and several inches long. No
me who has yet seen the teeth is
to announce the name of
heir owner, nor to guess whether he
vas a quadruped or a lizard. One
hing, however, is certain, the remains
re genuine, and they are of huge
reature. If it was a wi2-chewing
basing rough estimate
pom the relative size of the teeth, it
aust have been at least fifteen times
s large as a horse. If lizard, its
ength can only be a matter of con-
scture, but fifty or sixty feet is not
n unreasonable fancy in this direct
IN Worcester Special TO Boston Her.
Ld