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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Introduction to the Study of Palæontological Botany - -Author: John Hutton Balfour - -Release Date: January 9, 2016 [EBook #50882] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INTRODUCTION--PALAEONTOLOGICAL BOTANY *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - Superscripts are denoted by ^ eg Lith^{rs} Edin^r. - - Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fractions are shown - in the form a/b, eg 3/11 or 13/(34×2). - - The caption for an illustration is displayed as a sidenote in the - etext. It was shown as a page footnote in the original text. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the - text and consultation of external sources. - - More detail can be found at the end of the book. - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - TO THE STUDY OF - - PALÆONTOLOGICAL BOTANY - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - TO THE STUDY OF - - PALÆONTOLOGICAL BOTANY - - BY - - JOHN HUTTON BALFOUR, A.M. M.D. EDIN. - F.R.S., SEC. R.S.E., F.L.S. - - PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND BOTANY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, - REGIUS KEEPER OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, - AND QUEEN'S BOTANIST FOR SCOTLAND - - - WITH FOUR LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES, AND UPWARDS OF - ONE HUNDRED WOODCUTS - - - EDINBURGH - - ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK - - 1872 - - - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - - - - TO - - PROF. HEINRICH ROBERT GOEPPERT, M.D., - - DIRECTOR OF THE BOTANIC GARDEN, BRESLAU; - - ONE OF THE MOST EMINENT PALÆONTOLOGICAL - BOTANISTS OF EUROPE, - - The following Treatise - - IS DEDICATED, WITH BEST RESPECTS, BY HIS - OBLIGED FRIEND - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The subject of Fossil Botany or Palæophytology has formed a part of -the Course of Botany in the University of Edinburgh for the last -twenty-five years, and the amount of time devoted to the exposition -of it has increased. The recent foundation of a Chair of Geology and -of a Falconer Palæontological Fellowship in the University seems to -require from the Professors of Zoology and Botany special attention -to the bearings of their departments of science on the structure -of the animals and plants of former epochs of the Earth's history. -No one can be competent to give a correct decision in regard to -Fossils, unless he has studied thoroughly the present Fauna and Flora -of the globe. To give a well-founded opinion in regard to extinct -beings, it is essential that the observer should be conversant with -the conformation and development of the living ones now on the -earth; with their habits, modes of existence and reproduction, the -microscopic structure of their tissues, their distribution, and their -relation to soil, the atmosphere, temperature, and climate. - -There can be no doubt that to become a good Fossil Geologist a -student must begin with living animals and plants. The study of -Geology must be shared by the Petralogist, who looks at the -condition of the rocks of the globe, the minerals forming them, and -their mode of formation; the Chemist, who determines the materials -which enter into the composition of minerals and rocks; the -Naturalist, who examines the plants and animals found in the various -strata; and perhaps also the Natural Philosopher, who calculates from -independent sources the phases of the Earth's history. It may be said -thus to combine all these students of Science in one brotherhood. -Much has been done by the efforts of such men as Hutton and Werner, -who were engaged chiefly in considering the mineral department of -Geology; but it is clear that the Science could not have attained its -present position without the continued labours of those who have been -examining fossils in their relations to time and space. Had it not -been for the researches of Palæontologists, Geology could not have -made its present advance. - -In my Class Book of Botany I have given an introduction to -Palæophytology, and it occurred to me that it might be useful to -students to publish this in a separate form, with additions in -both the letterpress and the illustrations. The institution of -the Palæontological Fellowship, in memory of my former friend Dr. -Falconer, has brought the subject specially under my notice. The -Fellowship has been promoted chiefly by my friend and former pupil -Dr. Charles Murchison, a gentleman fond of science and of his Alma -Mater, the University of Edinburgh, where he and Falconer studied and -took their degrees. - -The first award of the Fellowship has been made to a distinguished -student, who acquitted himself with the greatest credit during the -three days of examination on Geology, Zoology, and Botany. I trust -that the Fellowship will continue to stimulate our eminent students -in future years. - -Having been a student of Natural Science along with Dr. Falconer, I -feel a peculiar interest in doing what I can to promote the study -of a subject to which he so successfully devoted his energies. -In my endeavour to do so I have been encouraged by my friend and -former pupil, Mr. William Carruthers, at the head of the Botanical -Department of the British Museum, and a former student in Edinburgh -under the late Professor Fleming. He has done much to advance our -knowledge of Fossil Botany, and to him I am indebted for two of the -plates and some of the woodcuts which illustrate this publication. -He has given me most efficient assistance, and I have to return my -best thanks for his kind aid. I am also indebted to my colleague, -Professor Geikie, for his valued assistance. - -The neighbourhood of Edinburgh is rich in Fossils of the -Carboniferous epoch, and much yet remains to be done to illustrate -its Palæontology. Such labourers as Geikie and Peach may be expected -to give great assistance in the furtherance of our knowledge of -Scottish Geology, so as to form a school which shall revive the -reputation enjoyed by Edinburgh in the days of Hutton and Jameson. -If I can be useful in encouraging students to take up the study of -Palæontological Botany, and to prosecute it with vigour, I shall feel -that this introductory treatise has not been issued in vain. As one -of the few surviving relations of Dr. James Hutton, I am glad to be -able to show an interest in a science which may aid in elucidating -the "Theory of the Earth." - -In writing this work I have taken for granted that the reader is -acquainted with the Elements of Botany, and knows the general -structure of plants of the present day. I have not, therefore, -hesitated to use the ordinary Botanical terms without explanation. I -am satisfied that no one can study Fossil Botany properly unless he -has studied Modern Botany. - -Those readers who may find any difficulty as to technical terms I -would refer to my Botanist's Companion, where a full Glossary is -given. - - 27 INVERLEITH ROW, - _May 1872_. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 1 - - DETERMINATION OF FOSSIL PLANTS 3 - - MODE OF PRESERVATION OF FOSSIL PLANTS 8 - - EXAMINATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF FOSSIL PLANTS 12 - - FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS 20 - - NATURAL ORDERS TO WHICH FOSSIL PLANTS BELONG 22 - - PERIODS OF VEGETATION AMONG FOSSIL PLANTS 25 - - FOSSIL FLORA OF THE PRIMARY OR PALÆZOIC PERIOD 26 - - REIGN OF ACROGENS 26 - - FLORA OF THE CARBONIFEROUS EPOCH 36 - - FLORA OF THE PERMIAN EPOCH 71 - - FOSSIL FLORA OF THE SECONDARY OR MESOZOIC PERIOD 72 - - REIGN OF GYMNOSPERMS 72 - - FLORA OF THE TRIAS AND LIAS EPOCHS 77 - - FLORA OF THE OOLITIC EPOCH 80 - - FLORA OF THE WEALDEN EPOCH 84 - - FOSSIL FLORA OF THE TERTIARY OR CAINOZOIC PERIOD (INCLUDING - THE CRETACEOUS EPOCH) 87 - - REIGN OF ANGIOSPERMS 87 - - FLORA OF THE CHALK 87 - - FLORA OF THE EOCENE EPOCH 90 - - FLORA OF THE MIOCENE EPOCH 92 - - FLORA OF THE PLIOCENE EPOCH 98 - - GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 101 - - RECAPITULATION 103 - - WORKS ON FOSSIL BOTANY 105 - - EXPLANATION OF PLATES 111 - - INDEX 113 - - - - -LIST OF WOODCUTS. - - - FIG. PAGE - - 1. Section of Peuce Withami, Lindley and Hutton 3 - - 2. Bark of Araucaria 5 - - 3. Markings on Araucaria bark 6 - - 4. " " 7 - - 5. " " 7 - - 6. Leaf of Araucaria 7 - - 7. Nicolia Owenii (Carr.) 11 - - 8. Bryson's instrument for slitting Fossils 14 - - 9. Tree-fern 27 - - 10. Asplenium 28 - - 11 _a._ Bifurcating Trunk of a Tree-fern (Alsophila Perrottetiana) 29 - - 11 _b._ Rhizome of Lastrea Filix-mas 29 - - 12. Transverse section of stem of a Tree-fern (Cyathea) 29 - - 13. Scalariform vessels from Tree-fern 30 - - 14. Sporangia of a Fern 30 - - 15. Lycopodium clavatum 30 - - 16. Spore-case, containing Microspores of Lycopodium 30 - - 17. " " Macrospores of Selaginella 30 - - 18. Fructification of Equisetum maximum 31 - - 19. Polygonal scale of Equisetum 32 - - 20. Spore of Equisetum--filaments contracted 32 - - 21. " " " expanded 32 - - 22. Marsilea Fabri 33 - - 22 _bis._ Adiantites Lindseæformis 41 - - 23. Pecopteris (Alethopteris) aquiline 43 - - 24. " (Alethopteris) heterophylla 43 - - 25. Neuropteris Loshii 43 - - 26. " gigantean 43 - - 27. " acuminate 43 - - 28. Sphenopteris affinis 43 - - 29. Cyclopteris dilatata 43 - - 30. Stem of Caulopteris macrodiscus 44 - - 31. " " Balfouri (Carr.) 44 - - 32. " " Morrisi (Carr.) 44 - - 33. " Sigillaria pachyderma 45 - - 34. Sigillaria reniformis 45 - - 35. " pachyderma 46 - - 36. " (Favularia) tessellate 46 - - 37. " pachyderma 46 - - 38. Stigmaria ficoides 47 - - 39. " " (S. anabathra of Corda) 47 - - 40. Bifurcating stem of Lepidodendron obovatum (elegans) 49 - - 41. Stem of Lepidodendron crenatum 49 - - 42. Fructification of Lepidodendron 50 - - 43. Longitudinal section of Fructification of Triplosporites 50 - - 44. (1). Fruit of Selaginella spinulosa, A. Braun (Lycopodium - selaginoides, Linn.) 51 - (2). Scale and sporangium from the upper part of cone 51 - (3). Antheridian microspores from ditto 51 - (4). Macrospore 51 - (5). Scale and sporangium from lower part of cone, containing - macrospores 51 - (6). Fruit of Lepidostrobus ornatus (Hooker) 51 - (7). Three scales and sporangia of ditto 51 - (8). Microspores from sporangia of the upper part of the - cone of Triplosporites Brownii, Brongn. 51 - (9). Macrospore from the sporangia of the lower part 51 - (10). Scales and sporangia of a cone of Flemingites 51 - - 45 _a._ Calamites Suckovii 57 - 45 _b._ Septum or Phragma of a Calamite 57 - - 46. Vertical stems of Calamites--in coal-measures of Treuil, - near St. Etienne 58 - - 47. Fruits of Equisetum and Calamites 60 - (1). Equisetum arvense, L. 60 - (2). Portion of sporangium wall 60 - (3, 4). Spores--elaters free 60 - (5). Longitudinal section of part of one side of cone 60 - (6). Transverse section of cone 60 - (7). Calamites (Volkmannia) Binneyi (Carr.) 60 - (8). Portion of sporangium wall 60 - (9). Two spores 60 - (10). Longitudinal section of part of one side of cone 60 - (11). Transverse section of cone 60 - - 48. Foliage and fruits of Calamites 62 - (1, 2). Asterophyllites 62 - (3, 4). Annularia 62 - (5, 6). Sphenophyllum 62 - - 49. Araucarioxylon Withami, Krauss (Pinites Withami) 63 - - 50. Trigonocarpum olivæforme 63 - - 51. Cardiocarpum Lindleyi (Carr.) 65 - - 52. " " 65 - - 53. Cardiocarpum anomalum (Carr.) 66 - - 54. Pothocites Grantoni (Paterson) 67 - - 55, 56. Walchia piniformis (Sternb.) 72 - - 57. Pinus sylvestris 73 - - 58. Abies excelsa 73 - - 59. Larix Europæa 73 - - 60. Cedrus Libani 73 - - 61. Araucaria excelsa 74 - - 62. Woody tubes of fir--single rows of discs 74 - - 63. " " --double and opposite rows of discs 74 - - 64. Woody tubes of Araucaria excelsa--double and triple - and alternate rows of discs 74 - - 65. Longitudinal section of stem of a Gymnosperm 74 - - 66. Linear leaves of Pinus Strobus 75 - - 67. Cone of Pinus sylvestris 75 - - 68. " Cupressus sempervirens 75 - - 69. Scale of mature cone of Pinus sylvestris 75 - - 70. Fruiting branch of Juniperus communis 76 - - 71. Branch of Taxus baccata 76 - - 72. Male flower of Yew 76 - - 73. Fruit of Yew 76 - - 74. Cycas revoluta 77 - - 75. Encephalartos (Zamia) pungens 77 - - 76. Schizoneura heterophylla 78 - - 77. Zamites 79 - - 78. Pterophyllum Pleiningerii 80 - - 79. Nilssonia compta (Pterophyllum comptum of Lindley - and Hutton) 80 - - 80. Palæozamia pectinata (Zamia pectinata of Brongniart, and - Lindley and Hutton) 80 - - 81. Brachyphyllum mammillare 81 - - 82. Equisetum columnare 81 - - 83. Araucarites sphærocarpus (Carr.) 82 - - 84. Termination of a scale of ditto 82 - - 85. Section of a scale of ditto 82 - - 86. The Dirt-bed of the island of Portland 83 - - 87. Cycadoidea megalophylla (Mantellia nidiformis of Brongniart) 83 - - 88. Kaidacarpum ooliticum (Carr.) 84 - - 89. Pandanus odoratissimus 84 - - 90. Fossil wood, Abietites Linkii 85 - - 91. Sequoiites ovalis 88 - - 92. Pinites ovatus (Zamia ovata of Lindley and Hutton) 89 - - 93. Palmacites Lamanonis 90 - - 95. Comptonia acutiloba 92 - - 96. Acer trilobatum 93 - - 97. Ulmus Bronnii 93 - - 98. Rhamnus Aizoon 94 - - 99. Alnus gracilis 95 - - 100. Taxites or Taxodites Campbellii 95 - - 101. Rhamnites multinervatus 95 - - 102. Equisetum Campbellii 96 - - - - -PALÆONTOLOGICAL BOTANY. - - -The study of the changes which have taken place in the nature of -living beings since their first appearance on the globe till the -period when the surface of the earth, having assumed its present -form, has been covered by the creation which now occupies it, -constitutes one of the most important departments in Geology. It is, -as Brongniart remarks, the history of life and its metamorphoses. -The researches of geologists show clearly that the globe has -undergone various alterations since that "beginning" when "God -created the heavens and the earth." These alterations are exhibited -in the different stratified rocks which form the outer crust of the -earth, and which were chiefly sedimentary deposits produced by the -weathering of the exposed rocks. Remains of the plants and animals -living on the globe at the time of the formation of the different -beds are preserved in them. Elevations and depressions of the surface -of the earth affected the organisms on its surface, and gave to -successive deposits new faunas and floras. Some of these epochs have -been marked by great changes in the physical state of our planet, -and they have been accompanied with equally great modifications -in the nature of the living beings which inhabited it. The study -of the fossil remains of animals is called Palæozoology (παλαιός, -ancient, and ζῷον, animal), while the consideration of those of -vegetables is denominated Palæophytology (παλαιός and φυτόν, a plant). -Both are departments of the science of Palæontology, which has been -the means of bringing geology to its present state of advancement. -The study of these extinct forms has afforded valuable indications -as to the physical state of the earth, and as to its climate at -different epochs. This study requires the conjunct labours of the -Zoologist, the Botanist, and the Petralogist. - -The vegetation of the globe, during the different stages of its -formation, has undergone very evident changes. At the same time there -is no reason to doubt that the plants may all be referred to the -great classes distinguished at the present day--namely, Thallogens, -including such plants as Lichens, Algæ, and Fungi; Acrogens, such -as Ferns and Lycopods; Gymnosperms, such as Cone-bearing plants and -Cycads; Endogens, such as Palms, Lilies, and Grasses; and Exogens, -such as the common trees of Britain (excluding the Fir), and the -great mass of ordinary flowering plants. The relative proportion of -these classes, however, has been different, and the predominance of -certain forms has given a character to the vegetation of different -epochs. The farther we recede in geological history from the present -day, the greater is the difference between the fossil plants and -those which now occupy the surface. At the time when the coal-beds -were formed, the plants covering the earth belonged to genera and -species not existing at the present day. As we ascend higher, the -similarity between the ancient and the modern flora increases, and in -the latest stratified rocks we have in certain instances an identity -in species and a considerable number of existing genera. At early -epochs the flora appears to have been uniform, to have presented less -diversity of forms than at present, and to have been similar in the -different quarters of the globe. The vegetation also indicates that -the nature of the climate was different from that which characterises -the countries in which these early fossil plants are now found. - - - - -DETERMINATION OF FOSSIL PLANTS. - - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 1. Section of _Peuce Withami_, after Lindley and -Hutton, a fossil Conifer of the coal epoch. Punctated woody tissue -seen.] - -Fossil plants are by no means so easily examined as recent species. -They are seldom found in a complete state. Fragments of stems, -leaves, and fruits, are the data by which the plant is to be -determined. It is very rare to find any traces of the flowers. The -parts of fossil plants are usually separated from each other, and -it is difficult to ascertain what are the portions which should be -associated together so as to complete an individual plant. Specimens -are sometimes preserved, so that the anatomical structure of the -organs, especially of the stem, can be detected by very thin slices -placed under the microscope. In the case of some stems the presence -of punctated woody tissue (Fig. 1) has proved of great service as -regards fossil Botany; this structure, along with the absence of -large pitted ducts, serving to distinguish Conifers. The presence -of scalariform vessels indicates a plant belonging to the vascular -Cryptogams, of which the fern is the best known example. The cautions -to be observed in determining fossil plants are noticed by Dr. Hooker -in the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain (vol. ii. -p. 387). At the present day, the same fern may have different forms -of fronds, which, unless they were found united, might be reckoned -distinct genera; and remarkable examples are seen in Niphobolus -rupestris and Lindsæa cordata. Moreover, we find the same form of -frond belonging to several different genera, which can only be -distinguished by the fructification; and as this is rarely seen in -fossil ferns, it is often impossible to come to a decided conclusion -in regard to them. A leaf of Stangeria paradoxa was considered -by an eminent botanist as a barren fern frond, but it ultimately -proved to be the leaf of a Cycad. The leaf of Cupania filicifolia, -a Dicotyledon, might easily be mistaken for that of a fern; it -resembles much the frond of a fossil fern called Coniopteris. The -diverse leaves of Sterculia diversifolia, if seen separately, might -easily be referred to different plants. In the same fern we meet -also with different kinds of venation in the fronds. Similar remarks -may be made in regard to other plants. Harvey has pointed out many -difficulties in regard to sea-weeds. - -As regards the materials for a fossil flora, the following remarks of -Hugh Miller deserve attention:-- - -"The authors of Fossil Floras, however able or accomplished they may -be, have often to found their genera and species, and to frame their -restorations, when they attempt these, on very inadequate specimens. -For, were they to pause in their labours until better ones turned up, -they would find the longest life greatly too short for the completion -of even a small portion of their task. Much of their work must be -of necessity of a provisional character--so much so, that there are -few possessors of good collections who do not find themselves in -circumstances to furnish both addenda and errata to our most valuable -works on Palæontology. And it is only by the free communication of -these addenda and errata that geologists will be at length enabled -adequately to conceive of the by-past creations, and of that gorgeous -Flora of the Carboniferous age, which seems to have been by far the -most luxuriant and wonderful which our emphatically ancient earth -ever saw." - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 2. Bark of _Araucaria imbricata_.] - -The bark of trees at the present day often exhibits different kinds -of markings in its layers. This may be illustrated by a specimen of -Araucaria imbricata, which was destroyed by frost in the Edinburgh -Botanic Garden on 24th December 1861. The tree was 24½ feet high, -with a circumference of four feet at the base of the stem, and -had twenty whorls of branches. The external surface of the bark -is represented in Fig. 2. There are seen scars formed in part by -prolongations from the lower part of the leaves, which have been -cut off close to their union with the stem. The base of each leaf -remaining in the bark has the form of a narrow elongated ellipse, -surrounded by cortical foliar prolongations. The markings on the -bark, when viewed externally, have a somewhat oblique quadrilateral -form. On removing the epiphlœum or outer bark, and examining its -inner surface, we remark a difference in the appearance presented -at the lower and upper part of the stem. In the lower portion the -markings have an irregular elliptical form, with a deep depression, -and fissures where the leaves are attached (Fig. 3). Higher up the -epiphlœal markings assume rather more of a quadrilateral form, with -the depressions less deep, and the fissures for the leaves giving off -prolongations on either side. Farther up the markings are smaller in -size, obliquely quadrilateral, and present circular clots along the -boundary lines chiefly (Fig. 4). Higher still the quadrilateral form -becomes more apparent, and the dots disappear (Fig. 5). The epiphlœum -thus presents differences in its markings at different heights on the -stem. - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 5.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 3, 4, and 5. Markings on Araucaria bark.] - -The part of the bark immediately below the epiphlœum is well -developed, and is of a spongy consistence. When examined -microscopically it is seen to be composed of cells of various -shapes--some elongated fusiform, others rhomboidal, others with -pointed appendages. The variety of forms is very great, but it is -possible that this may be partly owing to the effects of frost on the -cells. On the spontaneous separation of the bark, the portion below -the epiphlœum was seen to consist of distinct plates of a more or -less quadrilateral form, with some of the edges concave and others -convex, a part in the centre indicating the connection with the leaf, -along with which it is detached. In Fig. 6 a leaf is shown with one -of these plates attached. - -[Illustration: Fig. 6.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 6. Leaf of Araucaria with a portion of bark.] - -The appearances presented by the outer and middle bark of Araucaria -imbricata bear a marked resemblance to those exhibited by certain -fossils included in the genera Sigillaria and Lepidodendron. The -sculpturesque markings on the stems of these fossil plants indicate -their alliance to the ferns and lycopods of the present epoch. But -it is evident, from these markings, that much caution is required -in making this determination. Other points of structure must be -examined before a proper decision can be formed. When, for instance, -the presence of scalariform tissue, or of punctated woody tissue, -has been satisfactorily shown under the microscope, we are entitled -to hazard an opinion as to the affinities of the fossils. In many -instances, however, external appearances are the only data on which -to rely for the determination of fossil genera and species; and rash -conclusions have often been drawn by geologists who have not been -conversant with the structure of plants. The Araucaria markings point -out the need of care in drawing conclusions, and their variations at -different parts of the bark indicate the danger of a rash decision -as to species. There can be no doubt that in vegetable Palæontology -the number of species has been needlessly multiplied--any slight -variation in form having been reckoned sufficient for specific -distinction. We can conceive that the Araucaria bark markings in a -fossil state might easily supply several species of Lepidodendron. -A naturalist, with little knowledge of the present flora of the -globe, ventures sometimes to decide on an isolated fragment. Hence -the crude descriptions of fossil vegetable forms, and the confusion -in which Palæophytology is involved. Every geologist who examines -fossil plants ought to be well acquainted with the minute structure -of living plants, the forms of their roots, stems, leaves, fronds, -and fructification; the markings on the outer and inner surfaces of -their barks, on their stems, and on their rhizomes; the localities in -which they grow, and the climates which genera and species affect in -various parts of the world. (Professor Balfour in the Proceedings of -the Royal Society of Edinburgh, April 1862, vol. iv. p. 577.) - - - - -MODE OF PRESERVATION OF FOSSIL PLANTS. - - -The mode in which plants are preserved in a fossil state may be -referred to four principal classes:--1. Casts of the plants; from -which all the original substance and structure have been removed -subsequently to the burial of the plants, and to the greater or -less induration of the rocks in which they are entombed. Such casts -are occasionally hollow, but more frequently they consist of the -amorphous substance of the rock which has filled up the cavity, -and which exhibits, often with remarkable minuteness, the external -aspects of the original specimen. 2. Carbonisation; in which the -original substance of the plant has been chemically altered and -converted into lignite or coal. All trace of the form of the original -plant is generally lost, as is the case with the extensive beds of -coal; but frequently, when the organism has been buried in a bed of -clay, the external appearance is faithfully preserved, as in the -ferns and other foliage found in the shales of the coal-measures. -3. Infiltration; in which the vegetable tissues, though carbonised, -retain their original form from the infiltration of some mineral in -solution, chiefly lime or silex, which has filled the empty cells -and vessels, and so preserved their original form. This mode of -preservation occurs in the calcareous nodules in coal-beds, in the -remarkable ash-beds discovered by Mr. Wünsch in Arran, and generally -in the secondary rocks. 4. Petrifaction; in which the structure is -preserved, but the whole of the original substance has been replaced, -atom for atom, by an inorganic substance, generally lime, silex, or -some ore of iron. This is the condition of the beautiful fossils -from Antigua, and of many stems and fruits from rocks of all ages in -Britain. - -Carbonised vegetables, or those which have passed into the state -of Lignites, often undergo modifications which render it difficult -to understand them rightly. Sometimes a portion of the organs of -vegetables which have passed into the state of lignite is transformed -into pyrites, or else pyrites of a globular shape is found in -the middle of the tissue, and may be taken for a character of -organisation. The section of certain Dicotyledonous fossil woods, in -that case, may resemble Monocotyledons. Petrifaction, as in the case -of silicified woods, often preserves all the tissues equally, at -other times the soft tissues are altered or destroyed; the cellular -tissue being replaced by amorphous chalcedony, while the ligneous -and vascular tissues alone are petrified, so as to preserve their -forms. In some cases the reverse takes place as to these tissues; -the fibrous portions disappear, leaving cavities, while the cells -are silicified. Sometimes we find the parts regularly silicified -at one place, so as to retain the structure, while at another an -amorphous mass of silica is found. In such cases there appear, -as it were, distinct silicified woody bundles in the midst of an -amorphous mass. The appearance depends, however, merely on irregular -silicification or partial petrifaction. Infiltrated fossil woods, by -means of chemical tests, are shown to possess portions of vegetable -tissues cemented into a mass by silica. In some cases we find the -vessels and cells separately silicified, without being crushed into a -compact mass. In these cases, the intercellular substance not being -silicified, the mass breaks down easily; whereas, when complete -silicification takes place, the mass is not friable. Coniferous wood -is often friable, from silicified portions being still separated -from each other by vegetable tissue more or less entire. During -silicification, or subsequent to it, it frequently happens that -the plant has been compressed, broken, and deformed, and that -fissures have been formed which have been subsequently filled with -crystallised or amorphous silica. - -[Illustration: Fig. 7.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 7. _Nicolia Owenii_ (Carr.), from the Tertiary Strata -of Egypt.] - -Silicified stems of trees have been observed in various parts of -the world, with their structure well preserved, so that their -Endogenous and Exogenous character could be easily determined. The -Rev. W. B. Clarke notices the occurrence of a fossil pine-forest -at Kurrur-Kurrân, in the inlet of Awaaba, on the eastern coast of -Australia. In the inlet there is a formation of conglomerate and -sandstone, with subordinate beds of lignite--the lignite forming -the so-called Australian coal. Throughout the alluvial flat, stumps -and stools of fossilised trees are seen standing out of the ground, -and one can form no better notion of their aspect than by imagining -what the appearance of the existing living forest of Eucalypti and -Casuarinæ would be if the trees were all cut down to a certain level. -In a lake in the vicinity there are also some fossilised stumps of -trees, standing vertically. In Derwent Valley, Van Diemen's Land, -fossil silicified trees, in connection with trap rocks, have been -found in an erect position. One was measured with a stem 6 feet high, -a circumference at the base of 7 feet 3 inches, and a diameter at the -top of 15 inches. The stems are Coniferous, resembling Araucaria. The -outer portion of the stem is of a rich brown glossy agate, while the -interior is of a snowy whiteness. One hundred concentric rings have -been counted. The tissue falls into a powdery mass. Silica is found -in the inside of the tubes, and their substance is also silicified. -The erect silicified stems of coniferous trees exist in their natural -positions in the "dirt-bed," an old surface soil in the sandstone -strata of the Purbeck series in the Isle of Portland, Dorsetshire. In -the petrified forests near Cairo silicified stems have been examined -by Brown, Unger, and Carruthers. They belong to dicotyledonous trees -(not coniferous), to which the names of Nicolia Ægyptiaca and Nicolia -Owenii (Fig. 7) have been given. The wood consists of a slender -prosenchyma, abundantly penetrated by large ducts. The walls of the -ducts are marked by small, regularly arranged, oval, and somewhat -compressed hexagonal reticulations. The ducts have transverse -diaphragms. There are numerous medullary rays. The wood in their -stems is converted into chalcedony. (Carruthers on Petrified Forest -near Cairo. Geol. Mag., July 1870.) - - - - -EXAMINATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF FOSSIL PLANTS. - - -When the structure of fossil plants is well preserved, it may be -seen under the microscope by making thin sections after the mode -recommended by Mr. William Nicol, the inventor of the prism which -bears his name, and to whose memory Unger dedicated the genus -Nicolia, which has just been described as constituting the petrified -forest at Cairo. The following is a description of the process of -preparing fossils for the microscope, by Mr. Alexander Bryson. (Edin. -N. Phil. Journal, N. S. iii. 297. Balfour's Botanist's Companion, p. -30.) - -"The usual mode of proceeding in making a section of fossil wood is -simple, though tedious. The first process is to flatten the specimen -to be operated on by grinding it on a flat _lap_ made of lead charged -with emery or corundum powder. It must now be rendered perfectly flat -by hand on a plate of metal or glass, using much finer emery than in -the first operation of grinding. The next operation is to cement the -object to the glass plate. Both the plate of glass and the fossil -to be cemented must be heated to a temperature rather inconvenient -for the fingers to bear. By this means moisture and adherent air are -driven off, especially from the object to be operated on. Canada -balsam is now to be equally spread over both plate and object, and -exposed again to heat, until the redundant turpentine in the balsam -has been driven off by evaporation. The two surfaces are now to be -connected while hot, and a slow circular motion, with pressure, given -either to the plate or object, for the purpose of throwing out the -superabundant balsam and globules of included air. The object should -be below and the glass plate above, as we then can see when all the -air is removed, by the pressure and motion indicated. It is proper -to mention that too much balsam is more favourable for the expulsion -of the air-bubbles than too little. When cold, the Canada balsam -will be found hard and adhering, and the specimen fit for slitting. -This process has hitherto been performed by using a disc of thin -sheet-iron, so much employed by the tinsmith, technically called -_sheet-tin_. The tin coating ought to be partially removed by heating -the plate, and when hot rubbing off much of the extraneous tin by a -piece of cloth. The plate has now to be planished on the polished -_stake_ of the tinsmith, until quite flat. If the plate is to be -used in the lathe, and by the usual method, it ought to be planished -so as to possess a slight convexity. This gives a certain amount -of rigidity to the edge, which is useful in slitting by the hand; -while by the method of mechanical slitting, about to be described, -this convexity is inadmissible. The tin plate, when mounted on an -appropriate chuck in the lathe, must be turned quite true, with its -edge slightly rounded and made perfectly smooth by a fine-cut file. -The edge of the disc is now to be charged with diamond powder. This -is done by mingling the diamond powder with oil, and placing it on a -piece of the hardest agate, and then turning the disc slowly round. -Then, by holding the agate with the diamond powder with a moderate -pressure against the edge of the disc, it is thoroughly charged with -a host of diamond points, becoming, as it were, a saw with invisible -teeth. In pounding the diamond, some care is necessary, as also a -fitting mortar. The mortar should be made of an old steel die, if -accessible; if not, a mass of steel, slightly conical, the base of -which ought to be 2 inches in diameter, and the upper part 1½ inch. -A cylindrical hole is now to be turned out in the centre, of ¾ths of -an inch diameter, and about 1 inch deep. This, when hardened, is the -mortar; for safety it may be annealed to a straw colour. The pestle -is merely a cylinder of steel, fitting the hollow mortar but loosely, -and having a ledge or edging of an eighth of an inch projecting round -it, but sufficiently raised above the upper surface of the mortar, so -as not to come in contact while pounding the diamond. The point of -the pestle ought only to be hardened and annealed to a straw colour, -and should be of course convex, fitting the opposing and equal -concavity of the mortar. The purpose of the projecting ledge is to -prevent the smaller particles of diamond spurting out when the pestle -is struck by the hammer." - -[Illustration: Fig. 8.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 8. Mr. Bryson's instrument for slitting fossils. A -very simple slicing and polishing machine has been invented by Mr. J. -B. Jordan of the Mining Record Office, and is sold by Messrs. Cotton -and Johnson, Grafton Street, Soho, London. It costs about £10.] - -Mr. Bryson has contrived an instrument for slitting fossils. The -instrument is placed on the table of a common lathe, which is, of -course, the source of motion (Fig. 8). It consists of a Watt's -parallel motion, with four joints, attached to a basement fixed -to the table of the lathe. This base has a motion (for adjustment -only) in a horizontal plane, by which we may be enabled to place the -upper joint in a parallel plane with the spindle of the lathe. This -may be called the azimuthal adjustment. The adjustment, which in -an astronomical instrument is called the plane of right ascension, -is given by a pivot in the top of the base, and clamped by a screw -below. This motion in right ascension gives us the power of adjusting -the perpendicular planes of motion, so that the object to be slit -passes down from the circumference of the slitting-plate to nearly -its centre, in a perfectly parallel plane. When this adjustment -is made accurately, and the slitting-plate well primed and flat, -a very thin and parallel slice is obtained. This jointed frame is -counterpoised and supported by a lever, the centre of which is -movable in a pillar standing perpendicularly from the lathe table. -Attached to the lever is a screw of three threads, by which the -counterpoise weight is adjusted readily to the varying weight of the -object to be slit and the necessary pressure required on the edge of -the slitting-plate. - -The object is fixed to the machine by a pneumatic chuck. It consists -of an iron tube, which passes through an aperture on the upper -joint of the guiding-frame, into which is screwed a round piece of -gun-metal, slightly hollowed in the centre, but flat towards the -edge. This gun-metal disc is perforated by a small hole communicating -with the interior of the iron tube. This aperture permits the air -between the glass plate and the chuck to be exhausted by a small -air-syringe at the other end. The face of this chuck is covered with -a thin film of soft india-rubber not vulcanised, also perforated with -a small central aperture. When the chuck is properly adjusted, and -the india-rubber carefully stretched over the face of the gun-metal, -one or two pulls of the syringe-piston is quite sufficient to -maintain a very large object under the action of the slitting-plate. -By this method no time is lost; the adhesion is made instantaneously, -and as quickly broken by opening a small screw, to admit air between -the glass plate and the chuck, when the object is immediately -released. Care must be taken, in stretching the india-rubber over the -face of the chuck, to make it very equal in its distribution, and as -thin as is consistent with strength. When this material is obtained -from the shops, it presents a series of slight grooves, and is rather -hard for our purpose. It ought, therefore, to be slightly heated, -which renders it soft and pliant, and in this state should now be -stretched over the chuck, and a piece of soft copper wire tied round -it, a slight groove being cut in the periphery of the chuck to detain -the wire in its place. When by use the surface of the india-rubber -becomes flat, smooth, and free from the grooves which at first mar -its usefulness, a specimen may be slit of many square inches, without -resort being had to another exhaustion by the syringe. But when a -large, hard, siliceous object has to be slit, it is well for the -sake of safety to try the syringe piston, and observe if it returns -forcibly to the bottom of the cylinder, which evidences the good -condition of the vacuum of the chuck. - -After the operation of slitting, the plate must be removed from -the spindle of the lathe, and the flat lead _lap_ substituted. The -pneumatic chuck is now to be reversed, and the specimen placed in -contact with the grinder. By giving a slightly tortuous motion to -the specimen, that is, using the motion of the various joints, the -object is ground perfectly flat when the length of both arms of the -joints is perfectly equal. Should the leg of the first joint on the -right-hand side be the longer, the specimen will be ground hollow; if -shorter, it will be ground convex. But if, as before stated, they are -of equal length, a perfectly parallel surface will be obtained. - -In operating on siliceous objects, I have found soap and water -quite as speedy and efficacious as oil, which is generally used; -while calcareous fossils must be slit by a solution of common soda -in water. This solution of soda, if made too strong, softens the -india-rubber on the face of the pneumatic chuck, and renders a -new piece necessary; but if care is taken to keep the solution of -moderate strength, one piece of india-rubber may last for six months. -The thinner and flatter it becomes, the better hold the glass takes, -until a puncture occurs in the outer portion, and a new piece is -rendered necessary. - -The polishing of the section is the last operation. This is performed -in various ways, according to the material of which the organism is -composed. If siliceous, a _lap_ of tin is to be used, about the same -size as the grinding _lap_. Having turned the face smooth and flat, a -series of very fine notches are to be made all over the surface. This -operation is accomplished by holding the edge of an old dinner-knife -almost perpendicular to the surface of the _lap_ while rotating; -this produces a series of _criddles_, or slight asperities, which -detain the polishing substance. The polishing substance used on the -tin lap is technically called lapidaries' rot-stone, and is applied -by slightly moistening the mass, and pressing it firmly against -the polisher, care being taken to scrape off the outer surface, -which often contains grit. The specimen is then to be pressed with -some degree of force against the revolving tin _lap_ or polisher, -carefully changing the plane of action, by moving the specimen in -various directions over the surface. - -To polish calcareous objects, another method must be adopted as -follows:-- - -A _lap_ or disc of willow wood is to be adapted to the spindle of the -lathe, three inches in thickness, and about the diameter of the other -laps (10 inches), the axis of the wood being parallel to the spindle -of the lathe, that is, the acting surface of the wood is the end of -the fibres, the section being transverse. - -This polisher must be turned quite flat and smoothed by a plane, as -the willow, from its softness, is peculiarly difficult to turn. It -is also of consequence to remark that both sides should be turned, -so that the _lap_, when dry, is quite parallel. This _lap_ is most -conveniently adapted to the common face chuck of a lathe with a -conical screw, so that either surface may be used. This is made -evident, when we state that this polisher is always used moist, and, -to keep both surfaces parallel, must be entirely plunged in water -before using, as both surfaces must be equally moist, otherwise the -dry surface will be concave and the moist one convex. The polishing -substance used with this _lap_ is putty powder (oxide of tin), which -ought to be well washed, to free it from grit. The calcareous fossils -being finely ground, are speedily polished by this method. To polish -softer substances, a piece of cloth may be spread over the wooden -_lap_, and finely-levigated chalk used as a polishing medium. - -In order to study fossil plants well, there must be an acquaintance -with systematic botany, a knowledge of the microscopical structure -of all the organs of plants, such as their roots, stems, barks, -leaves, fronds, and fruit; of the markings which they exhibit on -their different surfaces, and of the scars which some of them -leave when they decay. It is only thus we can expect to determine -accurately the living affinities of the fossil. Brongniart says, -that before comparing a fossil vegetable with living plants, it is -necessary to reconstruct as completely as possible the portion of -the plant under examination, to determine the relations of these -portions to the other organs of the same plant, and to complete the -plant if possible, by seeing whether, in the fossils of the same -locality, there may not be some which belong to the same plant. The -connection of the different parts of the same plant is one of the -most important problems in Palæophytology, and the neglect of it has -led to many mistakes. In some instances the data have been sufficient -to enable botanists to refer a fossil plant to a genus of the present -day, so that we have fossil species of the genera Ulmus, Alnus, -Pinus, etc. Sometimes the plant is shown to be allied to a living -genus, but differing in some essential point, or wanting something to -complete the identity, and it is then marked by the addition of the -term _ites_, as Pinites, Thuites, Zamites, etc. - -Before drawing conclusions as to the climate or physical condition -of the globe at different geological epochs, the botanist must be -well informed as to the vegetation of different countries, as to the -soils and localities in which certain plants grow, whether on land -or in the sea, or in lakes, in dry or marshy ground, in valleys or -on mountains, or in estuaries, in hot, temperate, or cold regions. -Great caution must be employed also in predicating from one species -the conditions of another, inasmuch as different species of the -same genus frequently exist in very different habitats, and under -almost opposite conditions of moisture and temperature. It is -only by a careful consideration of all these particulars that any -probable inferences can be drawn as to the condition of the globe. -Considering the physiognomy of vegetation at the present day, we -find remarkable associations of forms. The Palms, although generally -characteristic of very warm countries, are by no means confined to -them; Chamærops humilis extending to Europe as far as lat. 43° to 44° -N., and C. palmetto in North America to lat. 34° to 36° N., while -C. Fortunei, from the north of China, is perfectly hardy in the -south of England. Major Madden mentions the association of Palms and -Bamboos with Conifers at considerable elevations on the Himalayas. -(Edin. Bot. Soc. Trans. iv., p. 185.) Epiphytic Orchids, which -usually characterise warm climates, have representatives at great -elevations, as Oncidium nubigenum at 14,000 feet in the Andes, and -Epidendrum frigidum at from 12,000 to 13,000 feet in the Columbia -mountains. These facts point out the care necessary before drawing -conclusions as to the climate which fossil plants may be supposed to -indicate. - - - - -FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS. - - -The rocks of which the globe is composed are divided into two -great classes--the Stratified or Aqueous, and the Unstratified or -Igneous. The stratified rocks frequently contain fossil remains, -and are then called fossiliferous; those with no such remains are -designated non-fossiliferous or azoic. The igneous unstratified -rocks, included under the names of Granitic and Trappean, show no -appearance of animal or vegetable remains. Those trap rocks, however, -which have been formed of loose volcanic ashes have often enclosed -and preserved the remains of plants and animals; while even between -the successive beds of old lava-like trap rocks organic remains are -sometimes found. Thus, in Antrim, near the Giant's Causeway, deposits -containing vegetable remains occur inter-stratified with basaltic -rocks. These remains are of Miocene age, and have been referred to -coniferous plants, beeches, oaks, plane trees, etc. Similar plants -have been discovered in a similar position by the Duke of Argyll -in the island of Mull. In trap rocks near Edinburgh, lignite with -distinct structure has also been detected. Silicified wood and coal, -imbedded in trap rocks, have been seen in Kerguelen's Land. The wood -is found enclosed in basalt, whilst the coal crops out in ravines, -in close contact with the overlying porphyritic and amygdaloidal -greenstone. Hooker has also seen silicified wood, in connection with -trap, in Macquarrie's Plains, in Tasmania. Several beds of trap-tuff -or ash, formed into solid compact rock by infiltrated carbonate of -lime, occur in the north-east of Arran, which contain numerous stems, -branches, and fruits of carboniferous plants. These represent the -remains of successive forests which grew on this locality, and were -one after the other destroyed by the ash-showers poured forth from a -neighbouring volcano during its intermittent periods of activity. - -Fossil remains are extremely rare in certain rocks, which, from the -changes they have undergone, have been denominated Metamorphic. -These include Gneiss and Mica-slate, which are stratified rocks -subsequently altered by heat and other causes, and so completely -metamorphosed that the traces of organisms have been nearly -obliterated. Nevertheless, recognisable traces of plant and animal -remains have been found in what were recently thought to be azoic -rocks. The absence of organic remains in rocks is therefore not -sufficient to enable us to state that these rocks were formed before -animals or vegetables existed. - -The stratified rocks which contain fossils have been divided into -three great groups--the Palæozoic, the Secondary, and the Tertiary, -or into Palæozoic and Neozoic groups. The formations included under -these are exhibited in the following table, taken from Lyell's Manual -of Geology:-- - - 1. Recent. } Post Tertiary. } Recent. - 2. Post Pliocene. } } - - 3. Newer Pliocene. } Pliocene. } - 4. Older Pliocene. } } - } - 5. Upper Miocene. } Miocene. } Tertiary } - 6. Lower Miocene. } } or } - } Cainozoic. } - 7. Upper Eocene. } } } - 8. Middle Eocene. } Eocene. } } - 9. Lower Eocene. } } } - } Neozoic. - 10. Maestricht Beds. } } } - 11. White Chalk. } } } - 12 Chloritic Series. } } Secondary } - 13. Gault } Cretaceous. } or } - 14. Neocomian. } } Mesozoic. } - 15. Wealden. } } } - - 16. Purbeck Beds. } } } - 17. Portland Stone. } } } - 18. Kimmeridge Clay. } } } - 19. Coral Rag. } Jurassic. } } - 20. Oxford Clay. } } Secondary } - 21. Great or Bath Oolite. } } or } Neozoic. - 22. Inferior Oolite. } } Mesozoic. } - 23. Lias. } } } - } } - 24. Upper Trias. } } } - 25. Middle Trias. } Triassic. } } - 26. Lower Trias. } } } - - 27. Permian. Permian. } - 28. Coal Measures. } } - 29. Carboniferous } Carboniferous. } - limestone. } } - } - 30. Upper } { Devonian or } - 31. Middle } Devonian. { Old Red } } - 32. Lower } { Sandstone. } Primary } - } or } Palæozoic. - 33. Upper } } Palæozoic. } - 34. Lower } Silurian. Silurian. } - } - 35. Upper } } - 36. Lower } Cambrian. Cambrian. } - } - 37. Upper } } - 38. Lower } Laurentian. Laurentian. } - - - - -NATURAL ORDERS TO WHICH FOSSIL PLANTS BELONG. - - -The plants found in different strata are either terrestrial or -aquatic, and the latter exhibit species allied to the salt and fresh -water vegetables of the present day. Their state of preservation -depends much on their structure. Cellular plants have probably in a -great measure been destroyed, and hence their rarity; while those -having a woody structure have been preserved. The following is the -number of fossil genera and species, as compiled from Unger's work on -Palæophytology--(Unger, Genera et Species Plantarum Fossilium, 1850). - - DICOTYLEDONES. Genera. Species. - - Thalamifloræ. 24 84 - Calycifloræ 56 182 - Corollifloræ 23 60 - Monochlamydeæ Angiospermæ 48 221 - ------------- Gymnospermæ 56 363 - - MONOCOTYLEDONES. - Petaloideæ 38 130 - Glumiferæ 5 12 - - ACOTYLEDONES. - Thallogenæ 31 203 - Acrogenæ 121 969 - Doubtful 35 197 - ---- ---- - 437 2421 - -These plants are arranged in the different strata as follows:-- - - {Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian 73 - Palæozoic {Carboniferous 683 - {Permian 97 - - {Triassic 115 - Mesozoic {Jurassic 294 - {Cretaceous 183 - - {Eocene 414 - Cainozoic {Miocene 496 - {Pliocene 35 - - Recent Post-Pliocene 31 - ---- - Fossil Species. 2421 - -During the twenty years that have elapsed since this enumeration was -made, the number of fossil species has been very greatly increased. -The proportion exhibited in this table is likewise greatly altered -from the enormous additions made to the Tertiary Flora by Unger, -Ettingshausen, and Heer, and from the important contributions by -Principal Dawson to the Devonian Flora. - -Among the fossil Thalamifloral Dicotyledons, Unger mentions species -belonging to the orders-- - - Magnoliaceæ. - Anonaceæ. - Nymphæaceæ. - Capparidaceæ. - Malvaceæ. - Byttneriaceæ. - Tiliaceæ. - Aurantiaceæ. - Malpighiaceæ. - Aceraceæ. - Sapindaceæ. - Cedrelaceæ. - Zygophyllaceæ. - Xanthoxylaceæ. - Coriariaceæ. - -Among Calycifloral Dicotyledons-- - - Celastraceæ. - Rhamnaceæ. - Anacardiaceæ. - Amyridaceæ. - Leguminosæ. - Rosaceæ. - Calycanthaceæ. - Combretaceæ. - Melastomaceæ. - Myrtaceæ. - Halorageaceæ. - Cucurbitaceæ. - Cornaceæ. - Loranthaceæ. - Rubiaceæ. - -Among Corollifloral Dicotyledons-- - - Ericaceæ. - Styracaceæ. - Ebenaceæ. - Aquifoliaceæ. - Sapotaceæ. - Oleaceæ. - Apocynaceæ. - Gentianaceæ. - -Among Monochlamydeous Angiosperms-- - - Nyctaginaceæ. - Lauraceæ. - Proteaceæ. - Aquilariaceæ. - Samydaceæ. - Santalaceæ. - Euphorbiaceæ. - Urticaceæ. - Artocarpaceæ. - Ceratophyllaceæ. - Salicaceæ. - Myricaceæ. - Betulaceæ. - Altingiaceæ. - Platanaceæ. - Corylaceæ. - Juglandaceæ. - Rafflesiaceæ. - -Among Monochlamydeous Gymnosperms-- - - Coniferæ. - Taxaceæ. - Gnetaceæ. - Cycadaceæ. - -Among Petaloid Monocotyledons-- - - Smilaceæ. - Orchidaceæ. - Zingiberaceæ. - Musaceæ. - Liliaceæ. - Palmæ. - Pandanaceæ. - Araceæ. - Typhaceæ. - Naiadaceæ. - Restiaceæ. - -Among Glumiferous Monocotyledons-- - - Cyperaceæ. - Gramineæ. - -Among Acrogenous Acotyledons-- - - Filices. - Marsileaceæ. - Lycopodiaceæ. - Equisetaceæ. - Musci. - Hepaticæ. - -Among Thallogenous Acotyledons-- - - Lichenes. - Characeæ. - Algæ. - Fungi. - - - - -PERIODS OF VEGETATION AMONG FOSSIL PLANTS. - - -On taking a general survey of the known fossil plants, Brongniart -thought that he could trace three periods of vegetation, -characterised by the predominance of certain marked forms of -plants. In the ancient period there is a predominance of Acrogenous -Cryptogamic plants; this is succeeded by a period in which there is -a preponderance of Gymnospermous Dicotyledons; while a third period -is marked by the predominance of Angiospermous Dicotyledons. There -is thus--1. The reign of Acrogens, which includes the plants of the -Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods. During these periods -there seems to be a predominance of Ferns, and a great development of -arborescent Lycopodiaceæ, such as Lepidodendron and Sigillaria, and -with them are associated some Gynmosperms, allied to Araucaria, and -some anomalous plants, as Noeggerathia. 2. The reign of Gymnosperms, -comprehending the Triassic and Jurassic periods. Here we meet with -numerous Coniferæ and Cycadaceæ, while Ferns are less abundant. 3. -The reign of Angiosperms, embracing the Cretaceous and the Tertiary -periods. This is characterised by the predominance of Angiospermous -Dicotyledons, a class of plants which constitute more than -three-fourths of the present vegetable productions of the globe, and -which appear to have acquired a predominance from the commencement of -the Tertiary formations. These plants appear sparingly even at the -beginning of the chalk formation in Europe, but are more abundant in -this formation as developed in North America. - - - - -FLORA OF THE PRIMARY OR PALÆOZOIC PERIOD. - - - - -REIGN OF ACROGENS. - - -In the present day, acrogenous plants are represented by cellular -and vascular Cryptogams. In considering fossil plants our attention -is specially directed to the latter. In the recent Floras, vascular -Acrogens are represented by such plants as Ferns, Lycopods, and -Equisetums. Some of them have an arborescent habit, but the greater -number are shrubby and herbaceous. Many of them have creeping -rhizomes, which are either subterranean, or run along the surface -of the ground. One of these arborescent forms is seen in Tree-ferns -(Fig. 9). Another form with a rhizome is seen in Fig. 10. The trunks -of ferns are marked by scars, which indicate the parts where the -bases of the fronds were attached, and where the vascular tissue -passes out from the interior (Fig. 11, _a_ and _b_). A transverse -section of the stem (Fig. 12) shows a continuous cylinder of -scalariform vessels (Fig. 13), enclosing a large mass of cellular -tissue frequently penetrated by small scalariform bundles. The -cylinder is pierced by meshes, from the inner sides of which rise the -vascular bundles going to the leaves, while some of the free bundles -of the axis pass through the mesh, carrying with them a portion of -the cellular tissue into the petiole. The fructification consists -of spore-cases (sporangia), often with an elastic ring round them, -containing spores in their interior (Fig. 14). - -[Illustration: Fig. 9.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 9. Tree-fern, with a slender cylindrical trunk and a -crown of drooping fronds. It is a vascular acrogen.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 10.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 10. _Asplenium_; a species of Spleenwort. A. Rhizome, -_r_, covered with the bases (stalks or stipes) of the fronds; _f_, -fronds in bud, rolled up in a circinate manner (this is very rarely -seen in fossil ferns); _g_, fronds bearing fructification on their -backs. B. Portion of a frond separated to show the linear sori or -clusters of sporangia (spore-cases).] - -Among Acrogens of the present day there are also plants belonging -to the natural order Lycopodiaceæ or Club-mosses (Fig. 15), having -creeping stems, which give rise to leafy branches. The leaves are -small, sessile, and moss-like, and the fructification consists of two -kinds of cellular bodies, small spores or microspores (Fig. 16), -and large spores or macrospores (Fig. 17). They consist of cellular -and vascular tissues, the latter occurring in the form of woody, -annular, and scalariform vessels, which occupy the axis or central -part of the stem. They differ from ferns in the distribution of -their vascular bundles. The order is represented also by such plants -as Selaginella, Psilotum, Phylloglossum, and Isoetes. In the plant -called Isoetes (Quillwort) there is a peculiar short stem which does -not increase in height. It produces additions laterally, so that the -stem increases in thickness. The leaves continue to multiply, and -bear fructification at their bases. They have both large and small -spores. - -[Illustration: Fig. 11, _a_. Fig. 11, _b_. Fig. 12.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 11, _a_. Bifurcating (forked or dichotomous) trunk -(caudex) of a Tree-fern (_Alsophila Perrottetiana_), showing the -scars (cicatrices) left by the fallen fronds. These scars exhibit -the arrangement of the vascular bundles. Fig. 11, _b_. Rhizome of -_Lastrea Filix-mas_ (male fern), showing scars of the leaves, _c_, -with markings of the vascular bundles.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 12. Transverse section of the stem (caudex) of a -Tree-fern (_Cyathea_), showing the arrangement of the cellular and -vascular tissue. The cellular tissue of the centre, _m_; that of -the circumference, _p_; vascular cylinder, _f v_, consisting of -dark-coloured pleurenchyma or ligneous tubes, _f_, and paler vessels, -_v_, chiefly scalariform and closed spiral, and pierced by the meshes -for the leaf-bundles at _m_; the outer cortical portion connected -with the bases of the leaves, _e_.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 13-17.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 13. Scalariform vessels taken from a Tree-fern. They -are marked with bars like the steps of a ladder, hence their name. -The membrane occasionally disappears, so that the walls are made up -of fibres only at some parts. - -Fig. 14. Sporangia of a Fern, supported on stalks, _p_, each of which -ends in an elastic cellular ring, _s_, partially surrounding the -spore-case, and opening it when mature. - -Fig. 15. _Lycopodium clavatum_, a common Club-moss. The leafy branch, -_l_, ends in a stalk bearing two spikes of fructification, _f_. - -Fig. 16. A kidney-shaped 2-valved case, containing small spores -(microspores) of Lycopodium. - -Fig. 17. Two-valved case, containing large spores (macrospores) of -Selaginella.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 18.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 18. Fructification of _Equisetum maximum_, Great -Water Horse-tail, showing the stalk surrounded by membranous sheaths, -_s s_, which are fringed by numerous processes called teeth. The -fructification, _f_, at the extremity, is in the form of a cone -bearing polygonal scales, under which are spore-cases containing -spores with filaments.] - -Another important order of vascular Acrogens is the Equisetaceæ -or Horse-tails (Fig. 18). These are Cryptogams, having rhizomes, -bearing hollow, striated branches, which secrete in their epidermis -a considerable amount of silex. These branches are jointed and have -membranous sheaths at the articulations, which are whorls of leaves -reduced to a very rudimentary condition. The fructification consists -of cone-like bodies (Fig. 18, _f_) bearing peltate polygonal scales, -under which are spore-cases (Fig. 19), enclosing spores with four -hygrometric club-shaped filaments called elaters (Figs. 20 and 21). -At the present day some of these plants in tropical regions have -stems of 15 or 16 feet high. - -[Illustration: Fig. 19-21.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 19. Polygonal scale, _s_, of a species of Horse-tail -(_Equisetum_), bearing membranous sacs, _t_, which open on their -inner surface to discharge spores. - -Fig. 20. Spore of Equisetum, surrounded by two filaments -with club-shaped extremities. The filaments are represented as coiled -round the spore. - -Fig. 21. Spore of Equisetum, with the filaments (elaters) -expanded.] - -Among vascular Acrogens is included the natural order Marsileaceæ -or Rhizocarpeæ, the Pepperworts (Fig. 22). The order consists of -aquatic plants, with creeping stems, bearing leaves, which are either -linear, or divided into three or more wedge-shaped portions not -unlike clover. The fructification is at the base of the leaf-stalks, -and consists of sacs (sporocarps) containing spores of two kinds, -microspores and macrospores. The order contains Marsilea, Pilularia, -Azolla, and Salvinia. - -For a fuller account of Acrogenous plants, see Balfour's Class Book -of Botany, p. 954. - -These orders are represented in the Palæozoic flora. Many of the -fossil species assume a large size, and show a greater degree -of development than is seen in their recent congeners. The most -important coal plants belong to the Ferns, Lycopods, and Horse-tails. -The examination of the structure and conformation of the plants of -the present flora assists much in the determination of the fossil -carboniferous flora. - -[Illustration: Fig. 22.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 22. _Marsilea Fabri_, a species of Pepperwort or -Rhizocarp, with a creeping stem, quadrifoliate stalked leaves on one -side, and roots on the other. The fructification, _s_, is at the base -of the leaves, and consists of sporangia, called sporocarps.] - -In the lower Palæozoic strata the plants which have been detected -are few. In the Silurian and Cambrian systems, we meet with the -remains of ancient marine plants, as well as a few terrestrial -species. Even in the still older Laurentian rocks, if the remarkable -structure known as Eozoon canadense be considered, as it generally -is, an animal, the existence of contemporary plants may be inferred, -inasmuch as without vegetable life animals could not obtain food. -In the Lower Silurian or Grauwacke, near Girvan, Hugh Miller found -a species resembling Zostera in form and appearance. In the Lower -Old Red Sandstone of Scotland he detected Fucoids, a Lepidodendron, -and Lignite with a distinct Coniferous structure resembling that of -Araucaria,[1] besides a remarkable pinnate frond. In the middle Old -Red of Forfarshire, as seen in the Arbroath pavement, he found a -fern with reniform pinnæ and a Lepidodendron. In the Upper Old Red, -near Dunse, a Calamite and the well-known Irish fern Cyclopteris -Hibernica occur.[2] This fern, Palæopteris Hibernica of Schimper -(Plate I. Figs. 1 to 4), along with Sigillaria dichotoma, is very -abundant in beds of the same age in the south of Ireland, from -which the specimens described by Edward Forbes were obtained. The -fructification has recently been discovered. This shows that the fern -belongs to the Hymenophylleæ, and is consequently nearly related to -the equally famous Killarney fern, Trichomanes radicans. - -Mr. Carruthers states that the frond-stalk of this fern is thick, -of considerable length, and clothed with large scales, which form -a dense covering at the somewhat enlarged base. The well-defined -separation observed in several specimens probably indicates that -the frond-stalks were articulated to the stem or freely separated -from it, and some root-like structures which occur on the slabs with -the ferns may be their creeping rhizomes. The pinnæ are linear, -obtuse, and almost sessile. The pinnules are numerous, overlapping, -of an ovate or oblong-ovate form, somewhat cuneate below, and with -a decurrent base. The veins are very numerous, uniform, repeatedly -dichotomous, and run out to the margin, where they form a slight -serration. Single pinnules rather larger than those of the pinnæ -are placed over the free spaces of the rachis, as was pointed out -by Brongniart. Carruthers has not met with any recent fern in which -this occurs; but it has been observed in several fossil species, as -in the allied American Palæopteris Halliana (Sch.), in Sphenopteris -erosa (Morris), and others. The pinnules are sometimes entirely, -but only partially fertile. The ovate-oblong sori are generally -single and two-lipped, the slit passing one-third of the way down -the sorus. The vein is continued as a free receptacle in the -centre of the cup or cyst, as in existing Hymenophylleæ, in which -it is included, not reaching beyond its entire portion. In some -specimens the receptacle is broad or thick, indicating the presence -of something besides itself in the cup, and giving the appearance -that would be produced if it were covered with sporangia; there is -no indication on the outer surface which might have been expected -from the separate sporangia. The compression of the specimens in the -rock, which has made the free receptacle appear like a vein on the -wall of the cup, together with the highly altered condition of the -rock in which the fossils are contained, accounts for the imperfect -preservation of the minute structures. The interpretation here given -of the fructification of this interesting fossil exhibits so close -a resemblance to what we find in the living genus Hymenophyllum, -that, were it not for the vegetative portions, it would be placed -in that genus. Several ferns have been described by Bunbury from -Devonian rocks at Oporto. A still more extensive and varied land -flora of Devonian age (or Erian, as he calls it) has been described -and illustrated by Principal Dawson from the rocks of that period -occurring in Canada; and during a recent visit to Britain he has -correlated many of the fragments collected by Miller, Peach, and -others, with the American species he has described. The following -are some of the fossil plants from beds older than the Carboniferous -system:[3]--Prototaxites Logani, Dadoxylon Ouangondianum, Calamites -transitionis, Asterophyllites parvulus, Sphenophyllum antiquum, -Lepidodendron Gaspianum, Lepidostrobus Richardsoni, L. Matthewi, -Psilophyton princeps, P. robustius, Selaginites formosus, Cordaites -Robbii, C. angustifolius, Cyclopteris Jacksoni. - -From the microscopic examination of the structure of specimens of -fossil trunks described under the name of Prototaxites Logani, and -which Principal Dawson believes to be the oldest known instance of -Coniferous wood, Mr. Carruthers has come to the conclusion that -they are really the stems of huge Algæ, belonging to at least more -than one genus. They are very gigantic when contrasted with the -ordinary Algæ of our existing seas, nevertheless some approach to -them in size is made in the huge and tree-like Lessonias which Dr. -Hooker found in the Antarctic Seas, and which have stems about 20 -feet high, with a diameter so great that they have been collected by -mariners in these regions for fuel, under the belief that they were -drift-wood. They are as thick as a man's thigh. Schimper regards the -Psilophyton of Dawson (Plate IV. Fig. 5) as allied to Pilularia, one -of the Rhizocarps (Fig. 22), and Carruthers places it among the true -Lycopodiaceæ. - - - - -_FLORA OF THE CARBONIFEROUS EPOCH._ - - -The Carboniferous period is one of the most important as regards -fossil plants. The vegetable forms are numerous, and have a great -similarity throughout the whole system, whether exhibited in the Old -or the New World. The important substance called Coal owes its origin -to the plants of this epoch. It has been subjected to great pressure -and long-continued metamorphic action, and hence the appearance -of the plants has been much altered. It is difficult to give a -definition of Coal. The varieties of it are numerous. There is a -gradual transition from Anthracite to Household and Parrot Coal; and -the limit between Coal and what is called bituminous shale is by no -means distinct. Coal may be said to be chemically-altered vegetable -matter inter-stratified with the rocks, and capable of being used as -fuel. On examining thin sections of coal under the microscope, we can -detect vegetable tissues both of a cellular and vascular nature. In -Wigan cannel coal, vegetable structure is seen throughout the whole -mass. Such is likewise the case with other cannel, parrot, and gas -coals. In common household coal, also, evident traces of organic -tissue have been observed. In some kinds of coal punctated woody -tissue (Plate III. Fig. 5) has been detected, in others scalariform -tissue (Plate III. Fig. 6), as well as cells of different kinds. -Sporangia are also frequently found in the substance of coal, as -shown by Mr. Daw in that from Fordel (Plate III. Figs. 1 to 3); and -some beds, like the Better bed of Bradford, are composed almost -entirely of these sporangia imbedded in their shed microspores, -as has been recently shown by Huxley. The structure of coal in -different beds, and in different parts of the same bed, seems to vary -according to the nature of the plants by which it has been formed, -as well as to the metamorphic action which it has undergone. Hence -the different varieties of coal which are worked. The occurrence of -punctated tissue indicates the presence of Coniferæ in the coal-bed, -while scalariform vessels point to ferns, and their allies, such as -Sigillaria and Lepidodendron. The anatomical structure of the stems -of these plants may have some effect on the microscopic characters -of the coal produced from them. In some cannel coals structure -resembling that of Acrogens has been observed. A brownish-yellow -substance is occasionally present, which seems to yield abundance of -carburetted hydrogen gas when exposed to heat. - -It appears that in general each bed of coal is accompanied by the -remains of a somewhat limited amount of species. Their number, -particularly in the most ancient beds, is scarcely more than eight -or ten. In other cases the number is more considerable, but rarely -more than thirty or forty. In the same coal-basin each layer often -contains several characteristic species which are not met with -either in the beds above or below. Thus, there are sometimes small -local or temporary floras, each of which has given birth to layers -of coal. The quantity of carbonaceous and other matter required to -form a bed of coal is immense. Maclaren has calculated that one acre -of coal three feet thick is equal to the produce of 1940 acres of -forest.[4] The proportion of carbon varies in different kinds of -coal. Along with it there is always more or less of earthy matter -which constitutes the ashes. When the earthy substances are in such -quantity that the coaly deposit will not burn as fuel, then we have -what is called a shale. The coal contains plants similar to those of -the shales and sandstones above and below it. Underneath a coal-seam -lies the Underclay, containing roots only, and representing the -ancient soil; then comes the Coal, composed of plants whose roots are -in the clay, with others which have grown along with and upon them, -in a manner precisely similar to the growth of peat at the present -day; while above the coal is the Shale, marking how mud was laid -down on the plants, and bearing evidences of vigorous vegetation -on neighbouring land, from which currents brought down the fine -sediment, mingled with broken pieces of plants. - -The total thickness of coal in the English coal-fields is about 50 -or 60 feet. In the Mid-Lothian field there are 108 feet of coal. -Coal-beds are worked at 1725 feet below the sea-level, and probably -extend down to upwards of 20,000 feet. They rise to 12,000 feet above -the sea-level, and at Huanuco, in Peru, to 14,700.[5] It is said that -the first coal-works were opened at Belgium in 1198, and soon after -in England and Scotland; it was not till the fifteenth century that -they were opened in France and Germany. - -The following calculations have been made as to the extent of the -coal formation in different countries, and the amount of coal -raised:--[6] - - +--------------------------------+----------------+------------------+ - | COUNTRIES. | Square Miles of| Annual Production| - | | Coal Formation.| of Coal in Tons.| - +--------------------------------+----------------+------------------+ - |Great Britain and Ireland | 5,400 | 65,887,900 | - |British North America | 7,530 | 1,500,000 | - |United States | 196,650 | 5,000,000 | - |Belgium | 518 | 8,409,330 | - |France | 1,719 | 7,740,317 | - |Prussia and Austria | ---- | 4,200,000 | - |Saxony | 30 | 1,000,000 | - |Russia | 100 | 3,500,000 | - |Japan, China, Borneo, Australia,| | | - | etc. | ---- | 2,000,000 | - +--------------------------------+----------------+------------------+ - | Total Produce of the World | ---- | 99,237,547 | - +--------------------------------+----------------+------------------+ - -The total quantity of coal annually raised over the globe appears -thus to be about 100 millions of tons, of which the produce of Great -Britain is more than two-thirds, and would be sufficient to girdle -the earth at the equator with a belt of 3 feet in thickness and -nearly 5 feet in width. The coal-fields of the United States are -nearly forty times larger than those of Great Britain. - -Roscoe gives the following estimated quantities of coal in the -principal countries:-- - - +-----------------------------------+------------+-------------------+ - | | Average | | - | COUNTRIES. | Thickness. | Tons. | - | | No. Feet. | | - +-----------------------------------+------------+-------------------+ - |Belgium | 60 | 36,000,000,000 | - |France | 60 | 59,000,000,000 | - |British Islands | 35 | 190,000,000,000 | - |Pennsylvania | 25 | 316,400,000,000 | - |Great Appalachian Coalfield | 25 | 1,387,500,000,000 | - |Indiana, Illinois, Western Kentucky| 25 | 1,277,500,000,000 | - |Missouri, and Arkansas Basin | 10 | 739,000,000,000 | - |North America (assumed thickness | | | - | over an area of 200,000 square | | | - | miles) | 20 | 4,000,000,000,000 | - +-----------------------------------+------------+-------------------+ - -Unger enumerates 683 plants of the coal-measures, while Brongniart -notices 500. Of the last number there are 6 Thallogens, 346 -Acrogens, 135 Gymnosperms, and 13 doubtful plants. This appears -to be a very scanty vegetation, as far as regards the number of -species. It is only equal to about 1/20th of the number of species -now growing on the surface of the soil of Europe. Although, -however, the number of species was small, yet it is probable that -the individuals of a species were numerous. The proportion of -Ferns was very large. There are between 200 and 300 enumerated. -Schimper thinks there are 7 species congeneric with Lycopodium -found in the coal-measures. The following are some of the -Cryptogamous and Phanerogamous genera belonging to the flora of -the Carboniferous period:--Cyclopteris, Neuropteris, Odontopteris, -Sphenopteris, Hymenophyllites, Alethopteris, Pecopteris, Coniopteris, -Cladophlebis, Senftenbergia, Lonchopteris, Glossopteris, Caulopteris, -Lepidodendron (Lepidostrobus, Lepidophyllum, Knorria), Flemingites, -Ulodendron, Halonia, Psaronius, Sigillaria and Stigmaria, Calamites -(Asterophyllites and Sphenophyllum), Noeggerathia, Walchia, Peuce, -Dadoxylon, Pissadendron, Trigonocarpum. - -Ferns are the carboniferous fossil group which present the most -obvious and recognisable relationship to plants of the present day. -While cellular plants and those with lax tissues have lost their -characters by the maceration to which they were subjected before -fossilisation took place, ferns are more durable, and retain their -structure. It is rare, however, to find the stalk of the frond -completely preserved down to its base. It is also rare to find -fructification present. In this respect, fossil Ferns resemble -Tree-ferns of the present day, the fronds of which rarely exhibit -fructification. Hooker states that of two or three kinds of New -Zealand Tree-fern, not one specimen in a thousand bears a single -fertile frond, though all abound in barren ones. Only one surface -of the fossil Fern-frond is exposed, and that generally the least -important in a botanical point of view. Fructification is sometimes -evidently seen, as figured by Corda in Senftenbergia. In this case -the fructification is not unlike that of Aneimidictyon of the present -day. Carruthers has recently detected the separate sporangia of Ferns -full of spores in calcareous nodules in coal (Plate I. Fig. 5). These -have the elastic ring characteristic of the Polypodiaceæ, and in -their size, form, and method of attachment, they are allied to the -group Hymenophylleæ. The absence of fructification presents a great -obstacle to the determination of fossil Ferns. Circinate vernation, -so common in modern Ferns, is rarely seen in the fossil species, -and we do not in general meet with rhizomes. Characters taken from -the venation and forms of the fronds are not always to be depended -upon, if we are to judge from the Ferns of the present day. There -is a great similarity between the carboniferous Ferns of Britain -and America; and the same species, or closely allied species of the -same genera as those found in Britain have been met with in South -Africa, South America, and Australia. In the English coal-measures -the species are about 140. The Palæozoic flora of the Arctic regions -also resembles that of the other quarters of the globe. Heer, in -his account of the fossil flora of Bear Island,[7] enumerates the -following plants:--Cardiopteris frondosa, C. polymorpha, Palæopteris -Roemeriana, Sphenopteris Schimperi, Lepidodendron Veltheimianum, L. -commutatum, L. Carneggiannum, L. Wilkianum, Lepidophyllum Roemeri, -Knorria imbricata, K. acicularis, Calamites radiatus, Cyclostigma -Kiltorkense, Stigmaria ficoides, etc., Cardiocarpum ursinum, C. -punctulatum, besides various sporangia and spores. - -[Illustration: Fig. 22, _bis_.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 22, _bis_. Adiantites Lindseæformis.] - -The preponderance of Ferns over flowering plants is seen at the -present day in many tropical islands, such as St. Helena and the -Society group, as well as in extra-tropical islands, as New Zealand. -In the latter, Hooker picked 36 kinds in an area of a few acres; -they gave a luxuriant aspect to the vegetation, which presented -scarcely twelve flowering plants and trees besides. An equal area -in the neighbourhood of Sydney (in about the same latitude) would -have yielded upwards of 100 flowering plants, and only two or three -Ferns. This Acrogenous flora, then, seems to favour the idea of -a humid as well as mild and equable climate at the period of the -coal formation--the vegetation being that of islands in the midst -of a vast ocean. Lesquereux, in Silliman's Journal, gives three -sections of Ferns in the Carboniferous strata--viz. Neuropterideæ, -Pecopterideæ, and Sphenopterideæ. In Neuropterideæ fructification has -been seen in Odontopteris. In this genus the spores are in a peculiar -bladdery sporangium. In Neuropterideæ the fructification appears to -have resembled Danæa in some cases, and Osmunda in others. Professor -Geikie has noticed in the lower Carboniferous shales of Slateford, -near Edinburgh, a fern which has been named Adiantites Lindseæformis -by Bunbury (Fig. 22, _bis_). It has pinnules between crescent and -fan shaped. (Mem. Geol. Survey of Edinburgh, 1861, p. 151.) - -Among the Ferns found in the clays, ironstones, and sandstones of -the Carboniferous period, we shall give the characters of some -by way of illustration.[8] Pecopteris (Fig. 23) seems to be the -fossil representative, if not congener, of Pteris. Pecopteris -heterophylla (Fig. 24) has a marked resemblance to Pteris -esculenta of New Zealand. The frond of Pecopteris is pinnatifid, -or bi-tri-pinnatifid--the leaflets adhering to the rachis by the -whole length of their base, sometimes confluent; the midrib of the -leaflets runs to the point, and the veins come off from it nearly -perpendicularly, and the fructification when present is at the end of -the veins. Neuropteris (Figs. 25, 26, 27) has a pinnate or bipinnate -frond, with pinnæ somewhat cordate at the base--the midrib of the -pinnæ vanishing towards the apex, and the veins coming off obliquely, -and in an arched manner. Neuropteris gigantea (Fig. 26) has a thick -bare rachis, according to Miller, and seems to resemble much Osmunda -regalis. Odontopteris has leaves like the last, but its leaflets -adhere to the stalk by their whole base, the veins spring from the -base of the leaflets, and pass on towards the point. Sphenopteris -(Fig. 28) has a twice or thrice pinnatifid frond, the leaflets being -narrowed at the base, often wedge-shaped, and the veins generally -arranged as if they radiated from the base. Sphenopteris elegans -resembled Pteris aquilina in having a stout leafless rachis, which -divided at a height of seven or eight inches from its club-like base -into two equal parts, each of which continued to undergo two or three -successive bifurcations. A little below the first forking two divided -pinnæ were sent off. A very complete specimen, with the stipe, was -collected in the coalfield near Edinburgh by Hugh Miller, who has -described it as above. Lonchopteris has its frond multi-pinnatifid, -and the leaflets more or less united together at the base; there is a -distinct midrib, and the veins are reticulated. Cyclopteris (Fig. 29) -has simple orbicular leaflets, undivided or lobed at the margin, the -veins radiating from the base, with no midrib. Schizopteris resembles -the last, but the frond is deeply divided into numerous unequal -segments, which are usually lobed and taper-pointed. - -[Illustration: Fig. 23-29.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 23 to 29 exhibit the fronds of some of the Ferns -of the Carboniferous epoch. Fig. 23. _Pecopteris (Alethopteris) -aquilina_. Fig. 24. _Pecopteris (Alethopteris) heterophylla_. Fig. -25. _Neuropteris Loshii._ Fig. 26. _Neuropteris gigantea._ Fig. 27. -_Neuropteris acuminata._ Fig. 28. _Sphenopteris affinis._ Fig. 29. -_Cyclopteris dilatata._] - -[Illustration: Fig. 30-32.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 30 to 32. Stem of Tree-ferns, called _Caulopteris_. -Fig. 30. _Caulopteris macrodiscus._ Fig. 31. _Caulopteris Balfouri_ -(Carr.), Coal-measures. Fig. 32. _Caulopteris Morrisi_ (Carr.), -Coal-measures.] - -The rarity of Tree-ferns in the coal-measures has often been -observed, and it is the more remarkable from the durable nature of -their tissues. Several species have, however, been noticed. They -are referred to the genus Caulopteris. One of them, C. macrodiscus -(Fig. 30) has the leaf-scars in linear series. Two other species are -figured, the one a slender form with the scars widely separated, -as in some Alsophilas, C. Balfouri (Fig. 31) from the Somersetshire -coal-field; and the other with larger stems and more closely -aggregated scars, C. Morrisi (Fig. 32), from the coal-measures at -Newcastle. The latter species shows the cavities at the base of the -petiole described by Mohl in many living fern-stems. The fossils -named Psaronius appear to have been fern-stems with a slender axis -and a large mass of adventitious roots, as in some Dicksonias and -in Osmunda regalis. These stems probably belong to some of the -fronds to which other names are given, but as they have not been -found attached, it is impossible to determine the point. Miller has -described a fern as occurring in the coal-measures, which at first -sight presents more the appearance of a Cycadaceous frond than -any other vegetable organism of the carboniferous age except the -Cycadites Caledonicus (Salter), from Cockburnspath Cove. He thus -describes it:-- - -"From a stipe about a line in thickness there proceed at right -angles, and in alternate order, a series of sessile lanceolate -leaflets, rather more than two inches in length, by about an eighth -part of an inch in breadth, and about three lines apart. Each is -furnished with a slender midrib; and, what seems a singular, though -not entirely unique feature in a Fern, the edges of each are densely -hirsute, and bristle with thick short hair. The venation is not -distinctly preserved." - -[Illustration: Fig. 33-34.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 36-37.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 33 to 37 exhibit forms of Sigillaria stems found in -the shales of the Carboniferous epoch. Fig. 33. Stem of _Sigillaria -pachyderma_ in an erect position, covered by successive deposits -of sandstone and shale; one of the stems is bifurcated. Fig. 34. -_Sigillaria reniformis_, with its external markings, and roots -which are Stigmarias, as proved by Mr. Binney. Fig. 35. _Sigillaria -pachyderma_, after Lindley and Hutton, from the shale of Killingworth -Colliery, showing the scars or places through which the vessels of -the stem passed to the leaves. Fig. 36. _Sigillaria (Favularia) -tessellata_, from the Denbigh coal-shale, showing the fluted stem -with scars. Fig. 37. _Sigillaria pachyderma_; the stem marked with -scars, and fluted longitudinally.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 35.] - -Sigillaria (Plate IV. Figs. 1 and 2) is perhaps the most important -plant in the coal formation. The name is derived from sigillum, a -seal, to indicate the seal-like markings in the stem. It is found -in all coal-shales over the world. Schimper mentions 83 species. It -occurs in the form of lofty stems, 40-50 feet high, and 5 feet broad -(Figs. 33 and 34). Many stems of Sigillaria may be seen near Morpeth, -standing erect at right angles to the planes of alternating strata -of shale and sandstone (Fig. 33). They vary from 10 to 20 feet in -height, and from one to three feet in diameter. Sir W. C. Trevelyan -counted 20 portions of these trees within the length of half-a-mile, -of which all but four or five were upright. Brongniart mentions -similar erect stems as being found near St. Etienne. The stem of -Sigillaria is fluted in a longitudinal manner, like a Doric column, -and has a succession of single scars, which indicate the points -of insertion of the leaves (Figs. 35, 36, and 37). When the outer -part of the stem separates like bark, it is found that the markings -presented by the inner surface differ from those seen externally. -This has sometimes given rise to the erroneous multiplication of -species and even of genera. Sigillaria elegans, as figured by -Brongniart in Archives du Museum, i. 405, has a stem consisting of a -central cellular axis or medulla, surrounded by a vascular cylinder, -and this is invested by a thick cellular cortical layer, the outer -portion composed of fusiform cells of less diameter than those of -the inner portion. What Brongniart calls medullary rays are mere -cracks or separations in the wedges traversed by vessels. In its -structure it resembles its root Stigmaria, and must be referred to -Lycopodiaceæ, along with Lepidodendron, Halonia, Ulodendron, etc. The -small round sporangia of Sigillaria are borne in a single patch on -the somewhat enlarged bases of some of the leaves. (See Carruthers -on Structure and Affinities of Sigillaria, in Journ. Geol. Soc. Aug. -1869.) - -[Illustration: Fig. 38-39.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 38. _Stigmaria ficoides_, root of Sigillaria, giving -off rootlets, which have been compressed. - -Fig. 39. _Stigmaria ficoides_ (_S. Anabathra_ of Corda), -which is the root of a Sigillaria. The markings are the points whence -rootlets proceed.] - -It has been ascertained by Professor King and Mr. Binney of -Manchester, that the plant called Stigmaria (Fig. 38) is not a -separate genus, but the root of Sigillaria (Plate IV. Figs. 1 -and 2). The name is derived from στίγμα, a mark, indicating the -markings on the axis. It is one of the most common productions of the -coal-measures, and consists of long rounded or compressed fragments, -marked externally by shallow circular, oblong, or lanceolate -cavities (Fig. 39) in the centre of slight tubercles, arranged more -or less regularly in a quincuncial manner (Plate III. Fig. 7). The -cavities occasionally present a radiating appearance. The axis of -the fragments is often hollow, and different in texture from the -parts around. This axis consists of a vascular cylinder or woody -system, penetrated by quincuncially arranged meshes or openings, -through which the vascular bundles proceed from the inner surface -of the cylinder to the rootlets (Plate III. Figs. 8 and 9). From -the scars and tubercles arise long ribbon-shaped processes, which -were cylindrical cellular roots, now compressed (Fig. 38). The -vascular cylinder of Stigmaria is composed entirely of scalariform -tissue, pierced by meshes for the passage, from the inner surface -of the cylinder, of the vascular bundles which supply the rootlets. -(Carruthers in Geol. Proc., Aug. 1869.) Stigmaria ficoides (Fig. -38) abounds in the under-clay of a coal-seam, sending out numerous -roots from its tubercles, and pushing up its aerial stem, in the form -of a fluted Sigillaria. On the Bolton and Manchester Railway Mr. -Binney discovered Sigillarias standing erect, and evidently connected -with Stigmarias which extended 20 feet or more.[9] Stigmaria is -regarded by Schimper as roots, not of Sigillaria only, but of -Knorria longifolia (one of the Lepidodendreæ). The base of the stem -of this species of Knorria is Ancestrophyllum, and the upper part -is Didymophyllum Schottini of Goeppert. Professor King and others -suppose that the Fern-like frond called Neuropteris is connected with -Sigillaria, but this is a mere conjecture, set aside by the discovery -of leaves attached to a species allied to Sigillaria elegans, which -establishes that the long linear leaves described under the name -Cyperites are the foliage of this genus. Goldenberg has figured the -fructification, which consists of small sporangia like those of -Flemingites, borne on the basis of but slightly modified leaves. -This establishes the opinion that Sigillaria was an acrogenous plant -belonging to Lycopodiaceæ. Brongniart reckons it as representing an -extinct form of Gymnosperms, and King, having erroneously associated -the Cyclopteris with it, places it between the Ferns and Cycadaceæ. -Mr. Carruthers informs me that he has examined the stem of a true -fluted Sigillaria, with the tissues preserved, and that these agree -with the structure of Lepidodendron, a position in which he had -already placed it from the structure of its fruit. - -[Illustration: Fig. 40-41.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 40 to 44 exhibit the stems and fructification of -Lepidodendron. Fig. 40. Bifurcating stem of _Lepidodendron obovatum_ -(_elegans_), showing the scale-like scars, and the narrow-pointed -leaves, resembling those of Lycopodium, but much larger. Fig. 41. -Stem of _Lepidodendron crenatum_, with the scars of its leaves.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 42-43.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 42. Fructification of Lepidodendron, showing its -cone-like form and spiral arrangement of scales. It is called -_Lepidostrobus Dabadianus_ by Schimper, but it is probably -Triplosporites. - -Fig. 43. Longitudinal section of the fructification, -showing central axis and scales carrying sporangia. The upper -sporangium contains microspores, the lower macrospores; hence it has -the character of Triplosporites.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 44.] - -[Sidenote: In woodcut 44 are represented the fruits of Selaginella -(one of the Lycopodiums of the present day), Lepidostrobus, -Triplosporites, and Flemingites. Fig. 1. _Selaginella spinulosa_, A. -Braun (_Lycopodium selaginoides_, Linn.) 2. Scale and sporangium from -the upper portion of the cone. 3. Antheridian microspores from the -same. 4. Macrospore. 5. Scale and sporangium from the lower part of -the cone, containing macrospores. 6. _Lepidostrobus ornatus_, Hooker. -7. Three scales and sporangia of ditto. 8. Microspores from the -sporangia of the upper part of the cone of _Triplosporites Brownii_, -Brongn. 9. Macrospore from the sporangia of the lower part (drawn -from Brongniart's description and measurements). 10. Scales and -sporangia of a cone of Flemingites.[10]] - -Lepidodendron (Figs. 40 to 44) is another genus of the coal-measures -which differs from those of the present day (Plate IV. Fig. 3). -Lepidodendrons, or fossil Lycopodiaceæ, had spikes of fructification -comparable in size to the cones of firs and cedars, and containing -very large sporangia, even larger than those of Isoetes, to which -they approach in form and structure. Schimper, in 1870, enumerates -56 species of Lepidodendron, all arborescent and carboniferous. -The stem of a Lepidodendron is from 20 to 45 feet high, marked -outside by peculiar scale-like scars (Fig. 41), hence the name of -the plant (λεπίς, a scale, and δένδρον, a tree). Although the scars -on Lepidodendron are usually flattened, yet in some species they -occupy the faces of diamond-shaped projections, elevated one-sixth -of an inch or more above the surface of the stem, and separated from -each other by deep furrows;--the surface bearing the leaf being -perforated by a tubular cavity, through which the bundle of vessels -that diverged from the vascular axis of the stem to the leaf passed -out. The linear or lanceolate leaves are arranged in the same way as -those of Lycopodiums or of Coniferæ, and the branches fork like the -former. The internal structure of the stem is the same as that of -Sigillaria. The fruit of Lepidodendron and allied genera is seen in -Lepidostrobus and Triplosporites (Figs. 42, 43; Plate III, Fig. 10). -Carruthers, in his lecture to the Royal Institution, in describing -the forms of Lepidostrobus, says--"The fruit is a cone composed -of imbricated scales arranged spirally on the axis like the true -leaves, and bearing the sporangia on their horizontal pedicels. Three -different forms of fruit belong to this genus, or it should perhaps -rather be called group of plants. The first of these is the cone -named by Robert Brown Triplosporites (Figs. 42, 43), and described by -him from an exquisitely preserved specimen of an upper portion, in -which the parts are exhibited as clearly in the petrified condition -as if they belonged to a fresh and living plant. The large sporangia -have a double wall, the outer composed of a compact layer of oblong -cells placed endwise, or with the long diameter perpendicular to the -surface; the inner is a delicate cellular membrane. The sporangium -is filled with a great number of very small spores, each composed of -three roundish bodies or sporules. Recently Brongniart and Schimper -have described a complete specimen of this fruit, in which the minute -triple spores are confined to the sporangia of the upper and middle -part of the cone, but the lower portion, which was wanting in Brown's -specimen, bears sporangia filled with simple spherical spores ten or -twelve times larger than the others (woodcut 44, 9). - -"The structure of another form of cone (Lepidostrobus) has been -expounded by Dr. Hooker. The arrangement of the different parts -comprising it is precisely similar to what occurs in Triplosporites; -but the sporangia are filled with the minute triple spores throughout -the whole cone (woodcut 44, 6 and 8). - -"The third form of cone, described by me under the name Flemingites, -differs from the other two in having a large number of small -sporangia supported on the surface of each scale; and it agrees with -Lepidostrobus in the sporangia containing only small spores (woodcut -44, 10). - -"In comparing these fossils with the living club-mosses, one is -struck with the singular agreement in the organisation of plants so -far removed in time, and so different in size, as the recent humble -club-mosses and the palæozoic tree Lepidodendrons. The fruit of -Triplosporites, like that of Selaginella (woodcut 44, 1), contains -large and small spores, the microspores being found in both genera on -the middle and upper scales of the cone, and the macrospores on those -of the lower portion (Fig. 43). - -"On the other hand, the fruits of Lepidostrobus and Flemingites -agree with that of Lycopodium in having only microspores. The size -of the two kinds of spores also singularly agrees in the two groups. -This is of some importance, for among the recent vascular Cryptogams -there is a remarkable uniformity in the size of the spores in the -members of the different groups, even when there is a great variety -in the size of the plants. Thus the spore of our humble wall-rue -is as large as that of the giant Alsophila of tropical regions. So -also the spores of Equisetum and Calamites agree in size, as may be -seen in woodcut 47, Figs. 3, 4, and 9, where the spores of the two -genera are magnified to the same extent. And a similar comparison -of the macrospore and microspore of Triplosporites with those of -Selaginella, and of the microspore of Lepidostrobus with that of -Lycopodium, exhibits a similar agreement. This is made apparent by -the drawings in woodcut 44 of the two kinds of spores of Selaginella, -3 and 4, with those of Triplosporites, 8 and 9, which are drawn to -the same scale." - -The genus Sigillaria, as we have already said, has, according to the -observation of Hooker, small sporangia exactly agreeing in size and -form with those of Flemingites. Most probably the contents of these -small sporangia were the same in both genera, so that Sigillaria -would be placed with Flemingites and Lepidostrobus as arborescent -Lycopodiaceæ having their affinities with Lycopodium, as they have -all microspores only in their fructification. - -The scales upon the Lepidodendron stems, as well as those in the -cones, are arranged in a spiral manner, in the same way as plants -of the present day. Professor Alexander Dickson has examined the -phyllotaxis of Lepidodendrons, and gives the following results of his -observations (Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. xi. 145). The fossil remains -of Lepidodendrons are often so compressed that it is difficult, -or even impossible, to trace the secondary spirals round the -circumference of the stem. In those cases, however, where there is -comparatively little compression, _i.e._ where the stem is more or -less cylindrical, the determination of the phyllotaxis is easy. Of -such stems he has examined fifteen specimens, which may be classed -according to the series of spirals to which the leaf-arrangement -belongs:-- - - -A. Ordinary series, ½, ⅓, ⅖, ⅜, 5/13, etc. - - (a.) Single spirals (D turning to the right, S to the left). - - (1.) _Lepidodendron_ (Possil Ironstone series). Stem about ¾ - of an inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 8 D, 13 S, 21 D. - Divergence = 13/34 (or possibly 21/55). - - (2.) _Lepidodendron_ (Knightswood, near Glasgow, Mr. J. Young). - Stem about 1½ inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 13 D, 21 S, 34 - D. Divergence = 21/55. - - (3.) _Lepidodendron_ (Possil Sandstone series). Trunk about - 2 feet long, with an average diameter of 20 inches. Steepest - secondary spirals 55 S, 89 D. Divergence = 55/144. - - (b.) Conjugate spirals.[11] - - (4.) _Lepidostrobus ornatus_ (Bathgate coal-field). About ¾ of - an inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 10 D, 16 S, 26 D, 42 S. - Divergence = 13/(34×2) (Bijugate arrangement). - - (5.) _Lepidostrobus_ (Plean, Stirlingshire, Mr. Mackenzie). About - ½ an inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 9 S, 15 D, 24 S, 39 D. - Divergence = 8/(21×3) (Trijugate arrangement). - - (6.) _Knorria taxina_ (from collection of Dr. Rankin, Carluke). - Somewhat compressed, 2-2½ inches[12] in diameter. Secondary - spirals 15 D, 24 S. Divergence = 15/(13×3) (Trijugate - arrangement). - - (7.) _Lepidodendron_ (from Dr. Rankin's collection). About 1¼ - inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 10 D, 15 S, 25 D, 40 S. - Divergence = 5/(13×5) (Quinquejugate arrangement). - - (8.) _Lepidodendron_ (Dowanhill, Glasgow, Possil Sandstone - series). Trunk about 1 foot long, and 1 foot in diameter. The - upper portion exhibits secondary spirals 35 D, 56 S, 91 D; thus - indicating a 7-jugate arrangement, with divergence = 8/(21×7). - The arrangement on the middle and lower portion is indistinct - and confused; so much so as to render any determination of the - arrangement doubtful. - -B. Series, ⅓, ¼, 2/7, 3/11, etc. - - (9.) _Lepidodendron_ (Messrs Merry and Cunningham's Clayband - Iron-Pit, Carluke). Stem 2 inches in diameter. Secondary spirals - 18 S, 29 D, 47 S. Divergence = 21/76. - -C. Series, ¼, ⅕, 2/9, 3/14, etc. - - (10.) _Lepidodendron_ (R. B. Garden, Edinburgh, Museum). Stem - somewhat flattened, 1-1½ inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 9 D, - 14 S, 23 D, 37 S. Divergence = 13/60. - - (11.) _Lepidodendron_ (Redhaugh, near Edinburgh, Mr. Peach). Stem - somewhat flattened, ¾ to ½ inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 9 - S, 14 D, 23 S, 37 D. Divergence = 13/60. - -D. Series, ⅕, ⅙, 2/11, 3/17, 5/28, etc. - - (12.) _Knorria taxina_ (Stockbriggs, Lesmahagow,--Hunterian - Museum). About 1 inch in diameter. The specimen consists of a - main stem and one of the branches into which it has forked. - On the main stem the secondary spirals are 6 D, 11 S, 17 D. - Divergence = 5/28 (series, ⅕, ⅙, 2/11, 3/17, 5/28, etc.)--On the - branch the secondary spirals are 8 S, 13 D. Divergence = 8/21 - (ordinary series, ½, ⅓, ⅖, ⅜, etc.) - -E. Series, ½, ⅖, 3/7, 5/12, 8/19, 13/31, 21/50, etc. - - (13.) _Lepidodendron_ (from Dr. Rankin's collection). About ⅞ - inch in diameter. Secondary spirals 12 D, 19 S, 31 D. Divergence - = 21/50. - -F. Series, ⅓, 3/10, 4/13, 7/23, 11/36, 18/59, etc. - - (14.) _Lepidodendron elegans_ (Possil Ironstone). About 1¼ inch - in diameter. Secondary spirals 10 S, 13 D, 23 S, 36 D. Divergence - = 18/59. - - (15.) _Lepidodendron_ (Possil Ironstone). About 2¼ inches in - diameter. Secondary spirals 23 S, 36 D, 59 S, 95 D. Divergence = - 47/154. - -From the above it is evident that the phyllotaxis of Lepidodendron -is extremely variable, as much so perhaps as that of those most -variable plants, in this respect, the Cacti. It is also clear that -what has been enunciated by Professor Haughton (Manual of Geology, -Lond. 1866, pp. 243, 245) as the law according to which the leaves of -palæozoic plants were arranged--viz. that of alternate whorls--does -not apply to these ancient Lycopods. Lepidodendron aculeatum is noted -by Naumann as exhibiting an 8/21 arrangement. (Poggendorff, Annalen, -1842, p. 5.) Professor Alexander Braun (Nov. Acta Ac. C. L. C. xv. -1, pp. 558-9), speaking of the excessive deviation from ordinary -arrangements in Equisetaceæ (including Calamites), compares them in -this respect with Lycopodiaceæ (including Lepidodendron), saying -that in these two families "the utmost limits of the domain of all -leaf-arrangement appears to be attained." - -Lepidophyllum is certainly leaves of Lepidodendron, the different -Lepidophylla belonging to different species of the genus. The slender -terminal branches are noticed under the name of Lycopodites. In coal -from Fordel Mr. Daw has detected innumerable bodies (Plate III. -Figs. 1, 2, 3) which have been shown to be sporangia. (Balfour, -Trans. Roy. Soc. Ed. xxi. 187.) On their under surface Mr. Carruthers -has observed a triradiate ridge (Plate III. Fig. 4). (Geological -Magazine, 1865, vol. ii. p. 140.) These sporangia have been found -connected with the cone-like fructification called Flemingites, and -resembling Lycopodium (woodcut 44, Fig. 4). Many forms of fossil -plants, such as Halonia, Lepidophloios, Knorria, and Ulodendron, -belong to the Lepidodendron group. Knorria is said to be the internal -cast of a Lepidodendron. - -Ulodendron minus and U. Taylori (Plate III. Fig. 11), found in -ferruginous shale in the Water of Leith, near Colinton, exhibit -beautiful sculptured scars, ranged rectilinearly along the stem. -The surface is covered with small, sharply relieved obovate scales, -most of them furnished with an apparent midrib, and with their edges -slightly turned up. The circular or oval scars of this genus are -probably impressions made by a rectilinear range of aerial roots -placed on either side. When decorticated, the stem is mottled over -with minute dottings arranged in a quincuncial manner, and its oval -scars are devoid of the ordinary sculpturings. Bothrodendron is a -decorticated condition of Ulodendron. - -[Illustration: Fig. 45 _a_.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 45 _b_.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 45. _a_, _Calamites Suckovii_, composed of jointed -striated fragments having a bark. Fig. 45. _b_, Septum or phragma of -a Calamite.] - -Calamites (κάλαμος, a reed) is a reed-like fossil, having a -sub-cylindrical jointed stem (Fig. 45, _a_ and _b_; Fig. 46; Plate -IV. Fig. 4). The stem is often crushed and flattened, and was -originally hollow. Calamites is thus defined by Grand d'Eury (Ann. -Nat. Hist. ser. 4, vol. iv. p. 124):--Stem articulated, fistular, and -septate; outer part comparatively thin, formed of three concentric -zones--1, an exterior cortical layer now converted into coal; 2, a -thin subjacent zone of vascular tissue, now invariably destroyed; -3, a sort of inner lining epidermis, which is carbonified. Cortical -envelope marked interiorly with regular flutings, interrupted and -alternate at the articulations. Inner epidermis smooth, or scarcely -striated. Vascular cylinder thin; outer surface of bark more fully -fluted and articulated than the inner surface. - -[Illustration: Fig. 46.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 46. Vertical stems of fossil trees, Calamites -chiefly, found in the coal-measures of Treuil, near Saint Etienne.] - -Carruthers gives the following description of the structure of a -species of Calamite which he examined:--The stem was composed of a -central medulla, which disappeared with the growth of the plant, -surrounded by a woody cylinder, composed entirely of scalariform -vessels, and a thin cortical layer. The medulla penetrated the -woody cylinder by a series of regular wedges, which were continued, -as delicate laminæ of one or two cells in thickness, to the -cortical layer. The cells of those laminæ were not muriform; their -longest diameter was in the direction of the axis. The wedges were -continuous, and parallel between each node. As the axial appendages -were produced in whorls, the only interference with the regularity of -the tissues was by the passing out through the stem at the nodes of -the vascular bundles which supplied these appendages. As the leaves -of each whorl were (with one or two exceptions) opposite to the -interspaces of the whorls above and below, there was also at each -node a re-arrangement of the wedges of vascular and cellular tissues. - -Schimper considers Calamites as having an analogy with Equisetum in -its fructification. He looks on them as fossil Equisetaceæ. Annularia -and Sphenophyllum are considered as establishing a passage from the -Equisetaceæ to the Lycopodiaceæ. Some gigantic fossil Equiseta had -a diameter of nearly 5 inches, and a height of 30 or more feet. The -branches, which adorned the higher part of them in the form of a -crown, are simple, and have at their extremity a spike of the size -of a pigeon's egg, and organised exactly like the spikes of living -Equiseta. The subterranean rhizomes are well developed, and gave -origin, like many Equiseta, to tubercles which had the form and size -of a hen's egg. - -The characters of Equisetum of the present day and Calamites, are -exhibited in woodcut 47. They show a marked resemblance in the -fructification. (See also page 31.) - -Plants of Calamites have been seen erect by Mr. Binney, and he has -determined that what were called leaves or branches by some are -in reality roots. Mr. Binney gives a full description of various -Calamites, under the name of Calamodendron commune, in his Memoir -published by the Palæontographical Society, 1868. There are between -50 and 60 species recorded.[13] - -In Spitzbergen, in rocks of the Carboniferous epoch, there have been -found Calamites, Sigillaria, Lepidodendron, and ferns, apparently the -same as those found in the Carboniferous epoch in Europe--Calamites -radiatus, Lepidodendron Veltheimianum, Sigillaria distans, Stigmaria -ficoides. Some species--Sigillaria Malmgreni, Lepidodendron -Carneggiannum, and L. Wilkianum--seem to be peculiar to Bear Island. - -[Illustration: Fig. 47.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 47. Fruits of Equisetum and Calamites. 1. _Equisetum -arvense_, L. 2. Portion of sporangium wall. 3, 4. Spores, with the -elaters free. 5. Longitudinal section of the part of one side of -cone. 6. Transverse section of cone. 7. _Calamites (Volkmannia) -Binneyi_, Carr., magnified three times. 8. Portion of the sporangium -wall. 9. Two spores. 10. Longitudinal section of the part of one side -of cone. 11. Transverse section of cone.] - -According to Carruthers the Equisetaceæ are represented in Britain by -the two genera Calamites found in primary beds, and Equisetum found -in secondary rocks and living at the present day. The difference in -the structure of their fruits is shown in woodcut 47. The fruit of -Calamites, called Volkmannia Binneyi (woodcut 47, 7), is a small -slender cone composed of alternating whorls of imbricate scales, -twelve in each verticil. The scales completely conceal the leaves -connected with the fructification. The fruit-bearing leaves are -stalked, peltate, and are arranged in whorls of 6. There are four -sporangia borne on the under-surface of the peltate leaves. These -spore-cases have cellular parietes, and in their interior there is -a deposit of cellulose in the form of short truncate processes not -unlike imperfect spirals. The spores are spherical, and appear to -have thread-like processes proceeding from them, similar to elaters. -The fruit-cone bears a marked resemblance to the fruit of Equisetum -in its fruit-bearing leaves, sporangia, spores, and elaters (see -Figs. 18, 19, 20, 21). In the modern plant all the leaves of the cone -are fructiferous, while in the fossil plant some are fruit-bearing, -and others are like the ordinary leaves of the plant. It is thought -that the fossil may be reckoned as having a somewhat higher position -than that possessed by the living genus. - -[Illustration: Fig. 48.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 48. Foliage and fruits of Calamites. 1 and 2. -Asterophyllites; 3 and 4. Annularia; 5 and 6. Sphenophyllum.] - -The different forms of foliage called Asterophyllites, Sphenophyllum, -and Annularia, belong to the one genus Calamites, but they may form, -perhaps, well-characterised sections when their fruits are better -known. In woodcut 48 representations are given of the foliage and -fruit of varieties of Calamites. In 1 and 2 we see the simplest form -called Asterophyllites. The leaves are linear and slender, with a -single rib. The form called Annularia (3 and 4) differs chiefly -in having a larger amount of cellular tissue spread out on either -side of the midrib. This form has a different aspect in a fossil -state from the other, from its whorls of numerous broad leaves -spread out on the surface of deposition, while the acicular leaves -of Asterophyllites have penetrated the soft mud, and are generally -preserved in the position they originally occupied in reference -to the supporting branch. The third form (5 and 6) is called -Sphenophyllum, and consists of whorls of wedge-shaped leaves, with -one or more bifurcating veins. They occur like those of Annularia, -spread out on the surface of the shale. - -[Illustration: Fig. 49-50.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 49. _Araucarioxylon Withami_, Krauss (_Pinites -Withami_), from the Coal-measures, Craigleith, near Edinburgh, -showing pleurenchyma with disks, and medullary rays. An excellent -specimen of a stem of this pine may be seen in the Edinburgh Royal -Botanic Garden. - -Fig. 50. _Trigonocarpum olivæforme_, an ovate, acuminate, -three-ribbed, and striated fruit or seed, which some suppose to be a -sporangium of a Lepidodendron, others refer it to Cycadaceæ. Hooker -refers it to Coniferæ like Salisburia.] - -True Exogenous trees exist in the coal-fields both of -England and Scotland, as at Lennel Braes and Allan Bank, in -Berwickshire; High-Heworth, Fellon, Gateshead, and Wideopen, near -Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and in quarries to the west of Durham; also in -Craigleith quarry, near Edinburgh, and in the quarry at Granton, now -under water. In the latter localities they lay diagonally athwart -the sandstone strata, at an angle of about 30°, with the thicker and -heavier part of their trunks below, like snags in the Mississippi. -From their direction we infer that they have been drifted by a stream -which has flowed from nearly north-east to south-west. At Granton, -one of the specimens exhibited roots. In other places the specimens -are portions of stems, one of them 6 feet in diameter by 61 feet in -length, and another 4 feet in diameter by 70 feet in length. These -Exogenous trees are Gymnosperms, having woody tissue like that of -Coniferæ. We see under the microscope punctated woody tissue, the -rows of disks being usually two, three, or more, and alternating. -They seem to be allied in these respects to Araucaria and Eutassa -(Fig. 61, p. 74) of the present flora. Araucarioxylon or Pinites -Withami (Fig. 49) is one of the species found in Craigleith quarry; -the concentric layers of the wood are obsolete; there are 2, 3, or -4 rows of disks on the wood, and 2-4 rows of small cells in the -medullary rays. Along with it there have also been found Dadoxylon -medullare, with inconspicuous zones, 2, 3, and 4 rows of disks, and -2-5 series of rows of cells in the rays. Pissadendron antiquum (Pitus -antiqua) having 4-5 series of cells in the medullary rays, and P. -primævum (Pitus primæva), with 10-15 series of cells in the medullary -rays, occur at Tweedmill and Lennel Braes in Berwickshire; Peuce -Withami (Fig. 1, p. 3) at Hilltop, near Durham, and at Craigleith. -Sternbergia is considered by Williamson as a Dadoxylon, with a -discoid pith like that seen now-a-days in the Walnut, Jasmine, and -Cecropia peltata, as well as in some species of Euphorbia.[14] -Sternbergia approximata is named by him Dadoxylon approximatum. -Hooker believes from the structure of Trigonocarpum (Fig. 50) that it -is a coniferous fruit nearly allied to Salisburia (Trans. Roy. Soc. -1854). Several species of Trigonocarpum occur in the Carboniferous -rocks, such as T. olivæforme from Bolton (Plate II. Fig. 5), and T. -sulcatum from Wardie, near Edinburgh (Plate II. Fig. 6). Noeggerathia -and a few other plants, such as Flabellaria and Artisia, are referred -by Brongniart to Cycadaceæ. Flabellaria borassifolia, according -to Peach, has leaves like Yucca. Noeggerathia has pinnate leaves, -cuneiform leaflets, sometimes fan-shaped; the veins arise from the -base of the leaflets, are equal in size, and either remain simple or -bifurcate, the nervation (venation) being similar to that of some -Zamias. - -The fossils of this period, referred to as Antholithes,[15] have -just been shown by Mr. Carruthers to be the inflorescence of -Cardiocarpum (Geol. Mag. Feb. 1872), and he proposes to set aside -the former name, confining it to the tertiary fossils to which it -was originally given by Brongniart, and to use the latter name. -The main axis of the inflorescence is simple, stout, and marked -externally with interrupted ridges. The axis bears in a distichous -manner sub-opposite or alternate bracts of a linear-lanceolate -form and with decurrent bases. In the axils of the bracts were -developed flower-like leaf-bearing buds, and from them proceeded -three or four linear pedicels, which terminated upwards in a somewhat -enlarged trumpet-shaped apex. To this enlarged articulating surface -was attached the fruit, to which has been given the generic name -Cardiocarpum[16] (Fig. 51). The place of attachment is indicated by -the short straight line which separates the cordate lobes at the base -of the fruit. The fruit is flattish, broadly ovate, with a cordate -base and sub-acute apex. It consists of an outer pericarp, inclosing -an ovate-acute seed. That the pericarp was of some thickness, -and formed probably a sub-indurated rind, is shown by a specimen -preserved in the round, and figured (Fig. 53 _a_). The pericarp is -open at the apex; and the elongated tubular apex of the spermoderm -passes up to this opening. The seed forms a distinct swelling in the -centre of the fruit, and a slight ridge passes up the middle to the -base of the apical opening. - -[Illustration: Fig. 51-52.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 51. _Cardiocarpum Lindleyi_, Carr. Fig. 52. Do., -Coal-measures, Falkirk.] - -These fossils are believed to be an extinct form of Gymnosperms. Two -species have been described, of both of which we are able to give -figures. The first figure is from the specimens collected by Mr. -Peach at Falkirk. It is Cardiocarpum Lindleyi (Figs. 51, 52); it has -a primary axis with sub-opposite axillary axes, bearing four to six -lanceolate leaves and three or four pedicels. Primary bracts short -and arcuate. Fruit ovate-cordate, with an acute bifid apex, and a -ridge passing up the middle of the fruit. - -[Illustration: Fig. 53.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 53. _Cardiocarpum anomalum_ (Carr.), natural size: -with separate fruit (_a_), twice natural size--Coal-measures, -Coalbrookdale.] - -The second species is Cardiocarpum anomalum (Fig. 53) from -Coalbrookdale; it has a primary axis with alternate or sub-opposite -axillary axes, slender and elongated, bearing many linear leaves, and -several slender pedicels; primary bracts long, slender, and straight; -fruits small, margined. The somewhat magnified separate fruit (_a_) -shows the thickness of the pericarp and the enclosed seed. - -[Illustration: Fig. 54.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 54. _Pothocites Grantoni_, Paterson. _a_, Spike -natural size; _b_, Portion of spike magnified; _c_, Perianth, -4-cleft, magnified.] - -In the bituminous shale at Granton, near Edinburgh, Dr. Robert -Paterson discovered in 1840 a peculiar fossil plant, which he called -Pothocites Grantoni (Fig. 54, _a_). It is figured in the Transactions -of the Edinburgh Botanical Society, vol. i. March 1840. It is a spike -covered by parallel rows of flowers (Fig. 54, _b_), each apparently -with a 4-cleft calyx (Fig. 54, _c_). It was supposed to be allied to -Potamogeton or Pothos, more probably to the latter. In that case it -must be referred to the natural order Araceæ. The original specimen -is deposited in the museum at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. - -Our knowledge of the real state of the vegetation of the earth -when coal was formed must be very limited, when we reflect how -seldom the fructification of coniferous trees has been met with -in the coal-measures. A very doubtful fragment, supposed to be a -cone, is given in Lindley and Hutton's work, under the title of -Pinus anthracina; but it is believed by Carruthers to be a fragment -of a Lepidodendroid branch. Lyell never saw a fossil fir-cone of -the Carboniferous epoch, either in the rocks or museums of North -America or Europe. Bunbury never heard of any other example than -that noticed by Lindley and Hutton. Principal Dawson is disposed -to think that the suberin of cork, of epidermis in general, and of -spore-cases in particular, is a substance so rich in carbon that -it is very near to coal, and so indestructible and impermeable to -water, that it contributes more largely than anything else to the -mineral. Sir Charles Lyell remarks--"To prevent ourselves, therefore, -from hazarding false generalisations, we must ever bear in mind the -extreme scantiness of our present information respecting the flora -of that peculiar class of stations to which, in the Palæozoic era, -the coal-measures probably belonged. I have stated elsewhere my -conviction that the plants which produced coal were not drifted from -a distance, but nearly all of them grew on the spot where they became -fossil. They constituted the vegetation of low regions, chiefly the -deltas of large rivers, slightly elevated above the level of the sea, -and liable to be submerged beneath the waters of an estuary or sea -by the subsidence of the ground to the amount of a few feet. That -the areas where the carboniferous deposits accumulated were low, -is proved not only by the occasional association of marine remains, -but by the enormous thickness of strata of shale and sandstone to -which the seams of coal are subordinate. The coal-measures are often -thousands of feet, and sometimes two or three miles, in vertical -thickness, and they imply that for an indefinite number of ages a -great body of water flowed continuously in one direction, carrying -down towards a given area the detritus of a large hydrographical -basin, draining some large islands or continents, on the margins of -which the forests of the coal period grew. If this view be correct, -we can know little or nothing of the upland flora of the same era, -still less of the contemporaneous plants of the mountainous or alpine -regions. If so, this fact may go far to account for the apparent -monotony of the vegetation, although its uniform character may -doubtless be in part owing to a greater uniformity of climate then -prevailing throughout the globe. Mr. Bunbury has successfully pointed -out that the peculiarity of the carboniferous climate consisted -more in the humidity of the atmosphere and the absence of cold, or -rather the equable temperature preserved in the different seasons of -the year, than in its tropical heat; but we must still presume that -colder climates existed at higher elevations above the sea." - -The plants of the coal-measures are evidently terrestrial plants. -Brongniart agrees with Lyell in thinking that the layers of coal have -in general accumulated in the situation where the plants forming -them grew. The remains of these plants covered the soil in the same -way as layers of peat, or the vegetable mould of great forests. In a -few instances, however, the plants may have been transported from a -distance, and drifted into basins. Phillips is disposed to think that -this was the general mode of formation of coal-basins. He is led to -this conclusion by observing the fragmentary state of the stems and -branches, the general absence of roots, and the scattered condition -of all the separable organs. Those who support the drift theory, look -on the coal plants as having been swept from the land on which they -grew by watery currents at different times, and deposited in basins -and large sea-estuaries, and sometimes in lakes. The snags in the -Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and other large rivers, are given as -instances of a similar drifting process. - -The vegetation of the coal epoch seems to resemble most that of -islands in the midst of vast oceans, and the prevalence of ferns -indicates a climate similar to that of New Zealand in the present -day. In speaking of the island vegetation of the coal epoch, -Professor Ansted remarks (Ancient World, p. 88)--"The whole of the -interior of the islands may have been clothed with thick forests, -the dark verdure of which would only be interrupted by the bright -green of the swamps in the hollows, or the brown tint of the ferns -covering some districts near the coasts. The forests may have been -formed by a mixture of several different trees. We would see then, -for instance, the lofty and widely-spreading Lepidodendron, its -delicate feathery fronds clothing, in rich luxuriance, branches -and stems, which are built up, like the trunk of the tree-fern, by -successive leafstalks that have one after another dropped away, -giving by their decay additional height to the stem, which might at -length be mistaken for that of a gigantic pine. There also should we -find the Sigillaria, its tapering and elegant form sustained on a -large and firm basis--enormous matted roots, almost as large as the -trunk itself, being given off in every direction, and shooting out -their fibres far into the sand and clay in search of moisture. The -stem of this tree would appear like a fluted column, rising simply -and gracefully without branches to a great height, and then spreading -out a magnificent head of leaves like a noble palm-tree. Other trees, -more or less resembling palms, and others like existing firs, also -abounded, giving a richness and variety to the scene; while one -gigantic species, strikingly resembling the Norfolk Island pine, -might be seen towering a hundred feet or more above the rest of the -forest, and exhibiting tier after tier of branches richly clothed -with its peculiar pointed spear-like leaves, the branches gradually -diminishing in size as they approach the apex of a lofty pyramid of -vegetation. Tree-ferns also in abundance might there be recognised, -occupying a prominent place in the physiognomy of vegetation, -and dotted at intervals over the distant plains and valleys, the -intermediate spaces being clothed with low vegetation of more humble -plants of the same kind. These we may imagine exhibiting their rich -crests of numerous fronds, each many feet in length, and produced -in such quantity as to rival even the palm-trees in beauty. Besides -all these, other lofty trees of that day, whose stems and branches -are now called Calamites, existed chiefly in the midst of swamps, -and bore their singular branches and leaves aloft with strange and -monotonous uniformity. All these trees, and many others that might -be associated with them, were, perhaps, girt round with innumerable -creepers and parasitic plants, climbing to the topmost branches of -the most lofty amongst them, and relieving, in some measure, the dark -and gloomy character of the great masses of vegetation." - -Hugh Miller remarks--"The sculpturesque character of the nobly-fluted -Sigillarias was shared by not a few of its contemporaries. -Ulodendrons, with their rectilinear rows of circular scars, and -their stems covered with leaf-like carvings, rivalled in effect the -ornately relieved torus of a Corinthian column. Favularia, Halonia, -many of the Calamites, and all the Lepidodendrons, exhibited the most -delicate sculpturing. In walking among the ruins of this ancient -flora, the palæontologist almost feels as if he had got among the -broken fragments of Italian palaces erected long years ago, when -the architecture of Rome was most ornate, and every moulding was -roughened with ornament; and in attempting to call up in fancy the -old Carboniferous forests, he has to dwell on this peculiar feature -as one of the most prominent; and to see in the multitude of trunks -darkened above by clouds of foliage that rise upon him in the -prospect, the slender columns of an older Alhambra, roughened with -arabesque tracery and exquisite filigree work." - - - - -_FLORA OF THE PERMIAN EPOCH._ - - -[Illustration: Fig. 55-56.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 55 and 56. _Walchia piniformis_, Sternb., a common -species in the Permian rocks of Europe. Fig. 55. Plant with leaves -and fructification. Fig. 56. Fructification, natural size.] - -The nature of the vegetation during the Permian period, which is -associated with the Carboniferous, under the reign of Acrogens, has -been extensively illustrated by Goeppert. Brongniart has enumerated -the fossils in three different localities, which he refers doubtfully -to this period. 1. The flora of the bituminous slates of Thuringia, -composed of Algæ, Ferns, and Coniferæ. 2. Flora of the Permian -sandstones of Russia, comprehending Ferns, Equisetaceæ, Lycopodiaceæ, -and Noeggerathiæ. 3. Flora of the slaty schists of Lodève, composed -of Ferns, Asterophyllites, and Coniferæ. The genera of Ferns here met -with are those found in the Carboniferous epoch; the Gymnosperms are -chiefly species of Walchia and Noeggerathia (the latter is supposed -by Schimper to be a Cycad); Lepidodendron elongatum, Calamites gigas, -and Annularia floribunda, are also species of this period. Walchia -is a conifer characteristic of the Permian epoch, of which there are -eight species described (Figs. 55 and 56). It has a single seed to -each scale of the cone, and two kinds of leaves, the one short and -imbricated, the other long and spreading. Among the plants of the -Permian formation Goeppert enumerates the following:[17]--Equisetites -contractus, Calamites Suckowi, C. leioderma, Asterophyllites -equisetiformis, A. elatior, Huttonia truncata, H. equisetiformis, -many species of Psaronius, one of the filicoid plants, -Hymenophyllites complanatus, Sphenopteris crassinervia, Sagenopteris -tæniæfolia, Neuropteris imbricata, and many other species of these -genera; several species of Odontopteris, Callipteris, Cyclopteris, -Dioonopteris, Cyatheites, Alethopteris, Noeggerathia, Cordaites, -Anthodiopsis, Dictyothalamus, Calamodendron, Arthropitys; besides -species of Sigillaria, Stigmaria, and Lepidodendron. Various fruits -are also mentioned, under the names of Rhabdocarpum, Cardiocarpum, -Acanthocarpum, Trigonocarpum, and Lepidostrobus. - - - - -FOSSIL FLORA OF THE SECONDARY OR MESOZOIC PERIOD. - - - - -REIGN OF GYMNOSPERMS. - - -[Illustration: Fig. 57, Fig. 59.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 58, Fig. 60.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 57. _Pinus sylvestris_, Scotch Fir. - -Fig. 58. _Abies excelsa_, common Spruce Fir of northern -Europe. - -Fig. 59. _Larix Europæa_, the Larch, indigenous on the -Alps of middle Europe. - -Fig. 60. _Cedrus Libani_, Cedar of Lebanon.] - -The Gymnospermous plants of the present day are included in two -natural orders, Coniferæ and Cycadaceæ. Under Coniferæ are enumerated -the various species of Pine (Fig. 57), Spruce (Fig. 58), Larch -(Fig. 59), Cedar (Fig. 60), Eutassa, Araucaria (Fig. 61), Sequoia, -Cryptomeria, Taxodium, Cypress, Juniper (Fig. 70), Salisburia, -Dacrydium, Yew (Fig. 71), etc. - -[Illustration: Fig. 61, Fig. 65.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 62-64.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 61. _Araucaria excelsa_, called also _Altingia_ or -_Eutassa_ or _Eutacta excelsa_, Norfolk Island Pine. - -Fig. 62. Woody tubes of fir, with single rows of discs. - -Fig. 63. Woody tubes of fir, with double rows of discs, -which are opposite to each other. - -Fig. 64. Woody tubes of _Araucaria excelsa_, with double -and triple rows of discs, which are alternate. - -Fig. 65. Longitudinal section of the stem of a Gymnosperm, -showing tubes of wood marked with punctations in one or more -rows, and a medullary ray composed of cells running across the -pleurenchyma.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 66-69.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 66. Linear leaves of _Pinus Strobus_, Weymouth Pine, -in a cluster of five, with scaly sheath at the base. - -Fig. 67. Cone of _Pinus sylvestris_, Scotch Fir. - -Fig. 68. Cone of _Cupressus sempervirens_, common Cypress. - -Fig. 69. Scale, _s_, of mature cone of _Pinus sylvestris_, -with two naked winged seeds, _m m_, at its base; _ch_ marks the -chalaza, _m_ the micropyle.] - -The Coniferæ of the present day are distinguished as resinous trees -or shrubs with punctated woody tissue (Figs. 62, 63, 64, 65), linear -acerose or lanceolate parallel-veined leaves, sometimes clustered, -and having a membranous sheath at the base (Fig. 66). Male flowers -in deciduous catkins; female flowers in cones (Figs. 67, 68). The -seeds are considered by most botanists as being naked, _i.e._ not -contained in a true pistil (Fig. 69). Some of the conifers have a -succulent cone, as the juniper (Fig. 70), and the yew (Figs. 71-73) -has a succulent mass covering a single naked seed (Fig. 73). The yew -also has its pleurenchyma marked both with punctations and spiral -fibres. The arrangement of the punctations in the Coniferæ gives -characters which enable us to classify the woods into groups that -have some relation to the genera established from the reproductive -organs (see Figs. 62-65). - -[Illustration: Fig. 70-73.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 70. Fruiting branch of _Juniperus communis_, common -Juniper, with linear acerose leaves and succulent cones. - -Fig. 71. Branch of _Taxus baccata_, common Yew. - -Fig. 72. Male flower of Yew, with bracts at the base. - -Fig. 73. Fruit of Yew, consisting of a single naked seed -partially covered by a succulent receptacle.] - -The natural order Cycadaceæ is not so largely represented at the -present day as it was during the Mesozoic epoch. Among the genera of -the present day are Cycas (Fig. 74), Zamia, Macrozamia, Encephalartos -(Fig. 75), Dion, Stangeria, etc. They are small palm-like trees or -shrubs, with unbranched stems, occasionally dichotomous, marked -with leaf-scars, and having large medullary rays along with pitted -woody tissue. The leaves are pinnate, except in Bowenia, which has a -bipinnate leaf. Males in cones. Females consisting of naked ovules -on the edges of altered leaves, or on the inferior surface of the -peltate apex of scales.[18] - - - - -_FLORA OF THE TRIAS AND LIAS EPOCHS._ - - -[Illustration: Fig. 74-75.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 74. _Cycas revoluta_, one of the false Sago-plants -found in Japan. - -Fig. 75. _Encephalartos (Zamia) pungens_, another -starch-yielding Cycad.] - -In this reign the Acrogenous species are less numerous; the -Gymnosperms almost equal them in number, and ordinarily surpass them -in frequency. There are two periods in this reign, one in which -Coniferæ predominate, while Cycadaceæ scarcely appear; and another -in which the latter family preponderates as regards the number of -species, and the frequency and variety of generic forms. Cycadaceæ -occupied a more important place in the ancient than in the present -vegetable world. They extend more or less from the Trias formation up -to the Tertiary. They are rare in the Grès bigarré or lower strata -of the Triassic system. They attain their maximum in the Lias and -Oolite, in each of which upwards of 40 species have been enumerated, -and they disappear in the Tertiary formations. Schimper describes -13 genera of fossil Zamiæ, and about 20 Cycadeæ. He thinks that -Trigonocarpum (15 species), Rhabdocarpum (24 species), Cardiocarpum -(21 species), and Carpolithes (9 species), are all fruits of -Cycadeæ. Many supposed fossil Cycads are looked upon by Carruthers -as Coniferæ. Zamia macrocephala, or Zamites macrocephalus, or -Zamiostrobus macrocephalus, is called by him Pinites macrocephalus; -Zamia ovata, or Zamites ovatus, or Zamiostrobus ovatus, is Pinites -ovatus; Zamia Sussexiensis is Pinites Sussexiensis. Among other -species of Pinites noticed by Carruthers are Pinites oblongus, -P. Benstedi, P. Dunkeri, P. Mantellii, P. patens, P. Fittoni, P. -elongatus. It is important to notice that in an existing Cycad called -Stangeria paradoxa the veins of the pinnæ rise from a true midrib -and fork, characters which render untenable the distinction usually -relied upon between the foliage of Ferns and Cycads. - -[Illustration: Fig. 76.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 76. _Schizoneura heterophylla_, one of the fossil -Coniferæ of the Triassic system.] - -In Brongniart's Vosgesian period, the Grès bigarré, or the Red -Sandstones and Conglomerates of the Triassic system, there is a -change in the flora. Sigillarias and Lepidodendrons disappear, and -in their place we meet with Gymnosperms, belonging to the genera -Voltzia, Haidingera, Zamites, Ctenis, Æthophyllum, and Schizoneura -(Fig. 76). The genus Voltzia is confined to the Trias, and though a -true conifer, it is not easy to correlate it with any living form. It -is apparently Abietineous, having two seeds to each scale, but they -are placed on the dilated upper portion of the scale. The leaves are -of two kinds, the one broad and short, and the other at the tops of -the branches long and linear. Species of Neuropteris, Pecopteris, -and other acrogenous coal genera are still found, along with species -of Anomopteris and Crematopteris--peculiar Fern-forms, which are -not found in later formations. Stems of arborescent Ferns are more -frequent than in the next period. - -[Illustration: Fig. 77.] - -The Jurassic period of Brongniart embraces the Keupric period or -variegated marls of the Triassic system, the Liassic epoch, the -Oolitic and the Wealden. The flora of the Keupric epoch differs from -that of the Grès bigarré of the Vosges. The Acrogens are changed as -regards species, and frequently in their genera. Thus we have the -genera Camptopteris, Sagenopteris, and Equisetum. Among Gymnosperms, -the genera Pterophyllum and Taxodites occur. - -[Illustration: Fig. 78-79.] - -[Sidenote: Figs. 77 to 81. Cycadaceæ of the Jurassic epoch of -Brongniart, and of the Oolite. Fig. 77. Zamites, one of the fossil -Cycadaceæ. Fig. 78. _Pterophyllum Pleiningerii_, leaf of a fossil -Cycad. Fig. 79. _Nilssonia compta_ (_Pterophyllum comptum_ of -Lindley and Hutton), from the Oolite of Scarborough. Lower part of -the pinnatifid leaf, with blunt almost square divisions. There are -numerous veins, slightly varying in thickness; while in Pterophyllum -there are numerous veins of equal thickness, in Cycadites there is a -solitary vein forming a thick midrib. Fig. 80. _Palæozamia pectinata_ -(_Zamia pectinata_ of Brongniart, and Lindley and Hutton), a pinnated -leaf, with a slender rachis. The pinnæ are linear, somewhat obtuse, -with slender equal ribs. It is found in the Oolite of Stonesfield -(Lindley and Hutton).] - -[Illustration: Fig. 80.] - -In the Lias the essential characters of the flora are the -predominance of Cycadaceæ, in the form of species of Cycadites, -Otozamites, Zamites (Fig. 77), Ctenis, Pterophyllum (Fig. 78), -and Nilssonia (Fig. 79), Palæozamia (Fig. 80), and the existence -among the Ferns of many genera with reticulated venation, such as -Camptopteris and Thaumatopteris, some of which began to appear at -the Keupric epoch. Coniferous genera, as Brachyphyllum (Fig. 81), -Taxodites, Palissya, and Peuce, are found. In the Lias near Cromarty, -Miller states that he found a cone with long bracts like those of -Pinus bracteata. - - - - -_FLORA OF THE OOLITIC EPOCH._ - - -In the Oolitic epoch the flora consists of numerous Cycadaceæ and -Coniferæ, some of them having peculiar forms. Its distinctive -characters are, the rarity of Ferns with reticulated venation, -which are so numerous in the Lias, the frequency of the Cycadaceous -genera Otozamites and Zamites, which are most analogous to those -now existing; the occurrence of a remarkable group presenting very -anomalous structure in their organs of reproduction, to which -Carruthers has given the name of Williamsonia; and the diminution -of Ctenis, Pterophyllum, Palæozamia, and Nilssonia, genera far -removed from the living kinds; and lastly, the greater frequency -of the coniferous genera, Brachyphyllum and Thuites, which are -much more rare in the Lias. In the Scottish Oolite at Helmsdale, -Miller detected about 60 species of plants, including Cycadaceæ -and Coniferæ, with detached cones, and Fern-forms resembling -Scolopendrium. He also discovered a species of Equisetum, and what he -supposed to be a Calamite. - -[Illustration: Fig. 81-82.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 81. _Brachyphyllum mammillare_, a Coniferous plant of -the Oolitic system, Yorkshire. - -Fig. 82. _Equisetum columnare_, a fossil species of the -Oolite of Yorkshire.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 83-85.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 83. _Araucarites sphærocarpus_, Carr., found in the -inferior Oolite at Bruton, Somersetshire. - -Fig. 84. Termination of a scale of _Araucarites -sphærocarpus_, Carr. - -Fig. 85. Section of a scale of _Araucarites sphærocarpus_, -Carr., showing the size and position of the seed.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 86-87.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 86. The _Dirt-bed_ of the Island of Portland, -containing stumps of fossil Cycadaceæ in an erect position. - -Fig. 87. _Cycadoidea megalophylla_ (_Mantellia nidiformis_ -of Brongniart), a subglobose depressed trunk, with a concave apex, -and with the remains of the petioles disposed in a spiral manner, the -markings being transversely elliptical. It is found in the Oolite of -the Island of Portland, in a silicified state.] - -There is an absence of true coal-fields in the secondary formations -generally; but in some of the Oolitic series, as in the lower Oolite -at Brora, in Sutherlandshire, and in the north-east of Yorkshire, -and the Kimmeridge clay of the upper Oolite, near Weymouth, there -are considerable deposits of carbonaceous matter, sometimes forming -seams of coal which have been worked for economic purposes.[19] Some -suppose that the Brora coal was formed chiefly by Equisetum columnare -(Fig. 82). In the sandstones and shales of the Oolitic series, -especially in the lower Oolite of the north of England, as at Whitby -and Scarborough, as well as in Stonesfield slate, the Portland Crag -of the middle, and the Portland beds of the upper Oolite, numerous -fossil plants are found. Peuce Lindleyana is one of the Coniferæ -of the lower Oolite. Beania (Plate II. Fig. 2) is a Cycadaceous -fossil from the Oolite of Yorkshire (Carruthers, Geol. Mag. vi. 91). -Araucarites sphærocarpus (Figs. 83, 84, 85) is found in the inferior -Oolite, and separate scales of Araucarian fruits occur in the Oolitic -shales of Yorkshire (Araucarites Phillipsii, Plate II. Fig. 11), and -in the "slate" at Stonesfield (A. Brodiei, Plate II. Fig. 10). The -upper Oolite at Portland contains an interesting bed, about a foot in -thickness, of a dark brown substance. This is the _Dirt-bed_ (Fig. -86) made up of black loam, which, during the Purbeck period, formed -a surface soil which was penetrated by the roots of trees, fragments -of whose stems are now found in it fossilised. These consist of -an assemblage of silicified stumps or stools of large trees, from -1-3 feet high, standing in their original position, with the roots -remaining attached to them, and still penetrating the earth in which -they grew. Besides the erect trunks many stems have been broken and -thrown down, and are buried in a horizontal position in the bed. -They belong to Coniferæ and Cycadaceæ. One of these is Mantellia -nidiformis, shown in Fig. 87. Carpolithes conicus and C. Bucklandi -are fruits found in the Oolite. Some look upon them as fruits of -palms. - -[Illustration: Fig. 88-89.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 88. _Kaidacarpum ooliticum_, Carr., fruit of a fossil -allied to Pandanaceæ, from the great Oolite near Northampton. - -Fig. 89. _Pandanus odoratissimus_, Screw-pine, with -adventitious roots.] - -Several species of Pandanaceous fruits have been found in Oolitic -strata. Buckland described one of them as Podocarya, which is -remarkable, as it consists of a single but many-seeded drupe. To -another form, more nearly allied to the existing plants, Carruthers -has given the name Kaidacarpum, and has described three species. -These fruits are made up of a large number of single-seeded drupes. -The species figured (Fig. 88) is from the great Oolite, near -Northampton. In Fig. 89 a representation is given of one of the -Pandanaceæ, the screw-pines of the present day. - - - - -_FLORA OF THE WEALDEN EPOCH._ - - -[Illustration: Fig. 90.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 90. Fossil Wood, _Abietites Linkii_. A Coniferous -plant from the Wealden, showing punctated woody tissue and medullary -rays.] - -The flora of the Wealden epoch is characterised in the south of -England by the abundance of the fern called Lonchopteris Mantellii, -and in Germany by the predominance of the Conifer denominated -Abietites Linkii (Fig. 90), and the presence of Araucarites -Pippingfordensis, as well as by numerous Cycadaceæ, such as species -of Cycadites, Zamites, Pterophyllum, Mantellia, Bucklandia, and a -remarkable genus having a fleshy fruit, and related to the ordinary -Cycadaceæ as Taxus is to the other Coniferæ, which has been fully -described in the Linn. Trans., under the name of Bennettites (Plate -II. Fig. 3). In the Wealden at Brook Point, Isle of Wight, Cycads -have been detected allied to Encephalartos. The fruits of them are -described by Carruthers as Cycadeostrobus. He describes the following -species:--Cycadeostrobus ovatus (Plate II. Fig. 1), C. truncatus, C. -tumidus, C. elegans, C. Walkeri, C. sphæricus, in the Oxford clay of -Wiltshire; C. primævus in the inferior Oolite at Burcott Wood and -Livingston, and C. Brunonis. Mantell states that he has found 40 or -50 fossil cones in the Wealden of England; they belong either to the -genus Cycadeostrobus or to the pines mentioned below as occurring in -the Wealden. The Wealden fresh-water formation terminates the reign -of Gymnosperms. Carruthers gives the following list of the remains of -Coniferæ which have been found in the secondary strata of Britain, -excluding the Trias:-- - - Upper Chalk.--Wood in flint nodules. - - Upper Greensand.--Foliage and cone of Sequoiites Woodwardii; cone - of Pinites oblongus. - - Gault.--Cones of Pinites gracilis and P. hexagonus, Sequoiites - Gardneri and S. ovalis. - - Lower Greensand.--Water-worn and bored pieces of wood; cones of - Pinites Benstedi, P. Sussexiensis, and P. Leckenbyi. - - Wealden.--Driftwood, foliage of Abietites Linkii; cones of - Pinites Dunkeri, P. Mantellii, P. patens, and P. Fittoni, and - of Araucaria Pippingfordensis; foliage (and drupes?) of Thuites - Kurrianus. - - Purbeck.--Fossil forest _in situ_ at Isle of Portland; cone - "nearly related to Araucaria excelsa" in the Dirt-bed. - - Portland Stone.--Driftwood Araucarites. - - Kimmeridge Clay.--Cone of Pinites depressus. - - Oxford Clay.--Driftwood and foliage of Araucarites. - - Great Oolite.--Driftwood of Araucarites; foliage of Thuites - acutifolius, T. articulatus, T. cupressiformis, T. divaricatus, - and T. expansus, and of Taxites podocarpoides; detached cones at - Helmsdale, Sutherland. - - Inferior Oolite.--Wood of Peuce Eggensis (Tertiary according to - Geikie); foliage of Brachyphyllum mammillare, Cryptomerites? - divaricatus, and Palissya? Williamsonis; cones of Araucarites - sphærocarpus, A. Brodiei, and A. Phillipsii. Pinites primæva - (Lindl. and Hutt.) is a Cycadean fruit. - - Lias.--Wood of Pinites Huttonianus and P. Lindleyanus; foliage - of Araucaria peregrina and Cupressus latifolia; cone of Pinites - elongatus, and "cone with long bracts like those of Pinus - bracteata," from Cromarty. - -Carruthers gives the following arrangement of fossil Cycadaceæ in -the Transactions of the Linn. Soc. vol. xxvi.--Firstly, the Cycadeæ: -including the genus Bucklandia, Presl; and species B. anomala, B. -Mantellii, B. squamosa, B. Milleriana--the two first-named species -being from the Wealden, and the two last-named from the Oolite. -Secondly, the Zamieæ: including the genus Yatesia, Carr.; and -species Y. Morrisi, Lower Cretaceous; Y. gracilis, Lias; Y. crassa, -M. Oolite; Y. Joassiana, M. Oolite; the genus Fittonia, Carr., and -species F. squamata, U. Cretaceous; the genus Crossozamia, Pomel, -and species C. Moreaui, Pomel, Jurassic, and C. Buvignieri, Pomel, -Jurassic--both from St. Michel, France. Thirdly, the Williamsonieæ: -including the genus Williamsonia, Carr.; and species W. gigas, W. -pecten, W. hastula, all from the inferior Oolite. Fourthly, the -Bennettiteæ: including the genus Bennettites, Carr., and species -B. Saxbyanus, Wealden; B. Gibsonianus, Lr. Greensand; B. maximus, -Wealden; B. Portlandicus, Lr. Purbeck; and B. Peachianus, M. -Oolite; the genus Mantellia, Brong., and species M. nidiformis, M. -intermedia, M. microphylla, from the Lr. Purbeck; and M. inclusa, -from the Lr. Cretaceous; the genus Raumeria, Goeppert, and species R. -Reichenbachiana, from Galicia, and R. Schulziana from Silesia. - - - - -FOSSIL FLORA OF THE TERTIARY OR CAINOZOIC PERIOD, - -(INCLUDING THE CRETACEOUS EPOCH). - - - - -REIGN OF ANGIOSPERMS. - - -This reign is characterised by the appearance of Angiospermous -Dicotyledons, plants which constitute more than three-fourths of the -species of the existing flowering plants of the globe, and which -appear to have acquired the predominance from the commencement of the -Tertiary epoch. They are plants with seeds contained in seed-vessels, -and each seed with two cotyledons. These plants, however, appear even -at the beginning of the Cretaceous period. In this reign, therefore, -Brongniart includes the upper Secondary period, or the Cretaceous -system, and all the Tertiary period. The Cretaceous may be considered -as a sort of transition period between the reign of Gymnosperms and -Angiosperms. - - - - -_FLORA OF THE CHALK._ - - -The Chalk flora is characterised by the Gymnospermous almost -equalling the Angiospermous Dicotyledons, and by the existence of a -considerable number of Cycadaceæ, which do not appear in the Tertiary -period. The genus Credneria is one of the characteristic forms. In -this period we find Algæ represented by Cystoseirites, Confervites, -Sargassites, and Chondrites; Ferns by peculiar species of Pecopteris -and Protopteris; Naiadaceæ by Zosterites; Palms, by Flabellaria and -Palmacites; Cycadaceæ by Cycadites, Zamites, Microzamia, Fittonia, -and Bennettites; Coniferæ, by Brachyphyllum, Widdringtonites, -Cryptomeria, Abietites, Pinites, Cunninghamites, Dammarites, -Araucarites; and Angiospermous Dicotyledons, by Comptonites, Alnites, -Carpinites, Salicites, Acerites, Juglandites, and Credneria. At the -base of the Tertiary period there are deposits of Algæ of a very -peculiar form, belonging to the genera Chondrites and Munsteria. No -land plants have been found mingled with these marine species. - -[Illustration: Fig. 91.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 91. _Sequoiites ovalis._ Large cone.] - -In the Gault, near Folkestone, an interesting association of -coniferous fruits has been found, consisting of two species of -Sequoia, along with two of Pinus. The pines belong to the same group -as those which now grow with the Wellingtonias in California, showing -the remarkable fact that the coniferous vegetation of the high lands -of the Upper Cretaceous period had a _facies_ similar to that now -existing in the mountains on the west of North America. We figure -both the species of Sequoiites--viz. S. ovalis (Fig. 91), a large -cone, and S. Gardneri (Plate II. Fig. 7). In the present day there -are two species of the genus Sequoia--viz. S. gigantea (Wellingtonia -gigantea) and S. sempervirens.[20] In the Lower Greensand a -remarkably fine cone belonging to the same group as the Cedar has -been found. This is the Pinites Leckenbyi (Plate II. Fig. 4). A -section exhibits the seeds in their true position, some of which are -preserved so as to exhibit the form and position of the embryo. - -[Illustration: Fig. 92.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 92. _Pinites ovatus_ (_Zamia ovata_ of Lindley and -Hutton), an ovate cone with a truncated base and obtuse apex, nearly -allied to the stone-pine.] - -The Tertiary period is characterised by the abundance of -Angiospermous Dicotyledons and of Monocotyledons, more especially of -Palms. By this it is distinguished from the more ancient periods. -Angiosperms at this period greatly exceed Gymnosperms. Cycadaceæ -are very rare, if not completely wanting, in the European Tertiary -strata, and the Coniferæ belong to genera of the temperate regions. -In the lower Tertiaries Carruthers has found a fossil Osmunda, and -the existence of a group of Pines having cones with a very thick -apophysis. From their remarkable external aspect, these cones -had been considered to be Cycadean, but their internal structure -indicates that they are coniferous. Pinites ovatus is one of -these cones (Fig. 92). The Cupressineæ are found in the Tertiary -beds only. Taxodieæ are represented by Sequoiites (Plate II. Fig. -7) in the Cretaceous and Eocene strata. Peuce australis of Van -Diemen's Land and P. Pritchardi of Ireland are Tertiary plants. -The Peuce of Eigg (P. Eggensis), according to Geikie, is also -Tertiary, and not Oolitic. Isoetes is mentioned by Schimper as a -Tertiary genus. Although the vegetation throughout the whole of the -Tertiary period presents pretty uniform characters, still there -are notable differences in the generic and specific forms, and in -the predominance of certain orders at different epochs. Brongniart -does not entirely agree with Unger as to these epochs. Many of the -formations classified by Unger in the Miocene division he refers with -Raulin to the Pliocene. He divides the Tertiary period, as regards -plants, into the Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene epochs, and gives the -following comparative results from an examination of their floras:-- - - +-----------------+---------------+----------------+-----------------+ - | Classes and | | | | - | Sub-Classes. | Eocene Epoch. | Miocene Epoch. | Pliocene Epoch. | - +-----------------+---------------+----------------+-----------------+ - | Thallogenæ | 16 | 6 | 6 | - | Acrogenæ | 17 | 4 | 7 | - | Monocotyledones | 33 | 26 | 4 | - | Dicotyledones-- | | | | - | Gymnospermæ | 40 | 19 | 31 | - | Angiospermæ | 103 | 78 | 164 | - +-----------------+---------------+----------------+-----------------+ - | | 209 | 133 | 212 | - +-----------------+---------------+----------------+-----------------+ - - - - -_FLORA OF THE EOCENE EPOCH._ - - -In the Eocene formation the fossil fruits of the Isle of Sheppey -increase the number of Phanerogamous plants, only a small proportion -of which have as yet been described. This is an exceptional locality, -and the deposit in which the fruits occur is probably the silt found -at the mouth of a large river which flowed, like the Nile, from -tropical regions towards the north. The number of plants as given by -Brongniart is much smaller than that mentioned by Unger (p. 23). The -latter includes in his enumeration a considerable amount of uncertain -species. - -[Illustration: Fig. 93.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 93. _Palmacites Lamanonis_. Fan-shaped (flabellate) -leaf of a Palm.] - -The Eocene epoch in general is characterised by the predominance of -Algæ and marine Naiadaceæ, such as Caulinites and Zosterites; by -numerous Coniferæ, the greater part resembling existing genera among -the Cupressineæ, and appearing in the form of Juniperites, Thuites, -Cupressinites (Plate II. Figs. 8, 9), Callitrites, Frenelites, and -Solenostrobus; by the existence of a number of extra-European forms, -especially of fruits, such as Nipadites, Leguminosites, Cucumites, -and Hightea; and by the presence of some large species of Palm -belonging to the genera Flabellaria and Palmacites (Fig. 93). - -[Illustration: Fig. 94.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 94. _Osmunda regalis_, Royal Fern, having a bipinnate -frond and fructification in a spike-like form, the branches bearing -sporangia.] - -Unger says that the Eocene flora has resembled in many respects that -of the present Australian vegetation. He gives the following genera -as occurring at the Eocene epoch:--Araucaria, Podocarpus, Libocedrus, -Callitris, Casuarina, Pterocarpus, Drepanocarpus, Centrolobium, -Dalbergia, Cassia, Cæsalpinia, Bauhinia, Copaifera, Entada, Acacia, -Mimosa, Inga. (Seemann's Journal of Bot. vol. iii. p. 43.) Amber is -considered to be the produce of many Coniferæ of this epoch, such -as Peuce succinifera or Pinites succinifera, and Pinus Rinkianus. It -occurs in East Prussia in great quantity, and it is said that many -pieces of fossil wood occur there, which, when moderately heated, -give out a decided smell of amber. Connected with these beds are -found cones belonging to Pinites sylvestrina and P. Pumilio-miocena, -species nearly allied to the living species; others to Pinites -Thomasianus and P. brachylepis. Goeppert contrasts the present flora -of Germany and that of the Amber epoch as follows:-- - - German Flora. Amber Flora. - - Cryptogameæ 6800 60 - Phanerogameæ 3454 102 - -and gives the following specimens of two of the orders:-- - - Cupuliferæ 12 10 - Ericaceæ 23 24 - -(See remarks by Goeppert on the Amber Flora, etc., Edin. N. Phil. -Journ. lvi. 368; and Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. x. 37.) In the lower -Eocene of Herne Bay, Carruthers noticed a fern like Osmunda (Fig. -94), which he calls Osmundites Dowkeri (Plate I. Figs. 8, 9). This -specimen was silicified; starch grains contained in its cells, and -the mycelium of a parasitic fungus traversing some of them, were -perfectly preserved. Berkeley has detected in amber fossil fungi, -which he has named Penicillium curtipes, Brachycladium Thomasinum, -and Streptothrix spiralis.[21] Some Characeæ are also met with, as -Chara medicaginula and C. prisca, with a fossil called Gyrogonites, -the nucule or the fructification of these plants. Carpolithes ovatus, -a minute seed-vessel, occurs in the Eocene beds of Lewisham. Another -small fruit, of a similar nature, called Folliculites minutulus, -occurs in the Bovey Tracey coal, which belongs to the Tertiary beds. - - - - -_FLORA OF THE MIOCENE EPOCH._ - - -[Illustration: Fig. 95.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 95. _Comptonia acutiloba_, apparently the leaf of -a plant belonging to the natural order Proteaceæ, which abound in -Australia, and are also found at the Cape of Good Hope at the present -day.] - -[Sidenote: Figures 96 to 99 show the leaves of plants belonging to -the Miocene epoch.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 96-97.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 98.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 96. _Acer trilobatum_, a three-lobed palmate leaf, -like that of the Maple, with the lobes unequal, inciso-dentate, the -lateral ones spreading, found at Œningen. Fig. 97. _Ulmus Bronnii_, -a petiolate leaf, like that of the Elm, unequally ovato-acuminate, -feather-veined and toothed, found in Bohemia. Fig. 98. _Rhamnus -Aizoon_, a petiolate elliptical obtuse feather-veined leaf, with an -entire margin, found in Styria.] - -The most striking characters of the Miocene epoch consist in the -mixture of exotic forms of warm regions with those of temperate -climates. Unger says that it resembles that of the southern part -of North America. Thus we meet with Palms, such as species of -Flabellaria and Phœnicites, a kind of Bamboo called Bambusium -sepultum; Lauraceæ, as Daphnogene and Laurus; Combretaceæ, as -Getonia and Terminalia; Leguminosæ, as Phaseolites, Desmodophyllum, -Dolichites, Erythrina, Bauhinia, Mimosites, and Acacia--all plants -having their living representatives in warm climates; Echitonium, -Plumiera, and other Apocynaceæ of equatorial regions; Comptonia (Fig. -95), a Proteaceous genus, and Steinhauera, a Cinchonaceous genus; -mingled with species of Acer (Fig. 96), Ulmus (Fig. 97), Rhamnus -(Fig. 98); and Amentiferous forms, such as Myrica, Betula, Alnus -(Fig. 99), Quercus, Fagus, Carpinus, all belonging to temperate -and cold climates. The statements as to the occurrence of Pinus -sylvestris and Betula alba among the Miocene fossils have not been -founded on complete data. It is by no means easy, even in the present -day, to distinguish fragments of dried specimens of Pinus Pumilio -from those of P. sylvestris, and from a great many other Pines. -The difficulty is still greater in fossils (Hook. Kew Journ. v. -413). There are a very small number of plants belonging to orders -with gamopetalous corollas. In the Miocene formation of Lough -Neagh in Ireland, and of Mull in Scotland, silicified trunks of -considerable size have been found. The Irish silicified wood has been -denominated Cupressoxylon Pritchardi from its apparent resemblance -to the Cypress. As connected with the Miocene epoch, we may notice -the leaf-beds found at Ardtun, in the island of Mull, by the Duke -of Argyll.[22] Above and below these beds basalt occurs, and there -are peculiar tuff-beds alternating with the leafy deposits. These -tuff-beds were formed by the deposit of volcanic dust in pools -probably of fresh water. They contain fragments of chalk and flint. -The leaves are those of plants allied to the Yew, Rhamnus, Plane, and -Alder, along with the fronds of a peculiar Fern, and the stems of an -Equisetum. The genera are Taxites or Taxodites (Fig. 100), Rhamnites -(Fig. 101), Platanites, Alnites, Filicites, and Equisetum (Fig. -102). In the leaf-beds at Bournemouth Mr. Wanklyn detected several -ferns. One is a species of Didymosorus, and shows distinct venation -and fructification. Fossilised wood was found in the Arctic Regions -by Captain M'Clure. At the N.W. of Banks Land he found trees with -trunks 1 foot 7 inches in diameter. - -[Illustration: Fig. 99-101.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 99. _Alnus gracilis_, an ovate-oblong leaf, like that -of the Alder, found in Bohemia.] - -[Sidenote: Figures 100, 101, 102, exhibit fragments of plants which -occur in the leaf-bed at Ardtun Head, in Mull, and which is referred -to the Miocene epoch. The figures are from the Duke of Argyll's -paper.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 100. _Taxites_, or perhaps _Taxodites Campbellii_, a -branch with leaves resembling those of the Yew, or rather those of -Taxodium. - -Fig. 101. _Rhamnites multinervatus_, a leaf resembling -that of Rhamnus.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 102.] - -[Sidenote: Fig. 102. _Equisetum Campbellii_, a stem like that of an -Equisetum of the present day.] - -Dr. Oswald Heer[23] has examined the plants preserved in the lignite -beds of Bovey Tracey, in Devonshire, and he finds that they belong -to the Miocene formation. There is a remarkable coincidence between -this and several of the continental fossil floras, such as those -of Salzhauser in the Wetterau, Manosque in Provence, and of some -parts of Switzerland. Bovey Tracey has no species in common with -Iceland, although the Tertiary flora of Iceland belongs to the -same period. Two of its species (Corylus MacQuarrii and Platanus -aceroides) have been found in the Miocene of Ardtun Head. Even the -genera are distinct, with the exception of Sequoia and Quercus. The -Bovey Tracey flora has a much more southern character, corresponding -entirely with that of the Lower Miocene of Switzerland. It contains -three species of Cinnamon, one Laurel, evergreen Figs, one Palm, and -large Ferns, thus manifesting a subtropical climate. One of the most -important plants is Sequoia Couttsiæ, a Conifer which supplies a link -between S. Langsdorfii and S. Sternbergi, the widely-distributed -representatives of S. sempervirens and S. gigantea (Wellingtonia), -which are Californian trees. Among other characteristic plants may be -mentioned Cinnamomum lanceolatum and C. Scheuchzeri; Quercus Lyellii, -an evergreen oak; species of evergreen fig (Ficus Falconeri and F. -Pengellii), Palmacites Dæmonorops, a prickly twining Rotang-palm; -species of Vine (Vitis Hookeri and V. Britannica); Pecopteris -lignitum, a large tree-fern; species of Nyssa, at present confined -to North America. Among other plants recorded by Heer in his paper -are the following:--Laurus primigenia, Daphnogene Ungeri, species -of Dryandroides, Andromeda, Vaccinium acheronticum, Echitonium -cuspidatum, Gardenia Wetzleri, species of Anona, Nymphæa Doris, -Carpolithes Websteri, C. Boveyanus, and other species. In the -post-tertiary white clay of Bovey Tracey, Salix cinerea, and a -species allied to S. repens, as well as Betula nana, are found. - -The Arctic fossil flora (Miocene), according to Heer, amounts to -162 species: Cryptogamia, 18 species, of which 9 are large ferns; -Phanerogamia, Coniferæ, 31; Monocotyledons, 14; Dicotyledons, 99. -Among the Coniferæ are--Pinus M'Clurii, Sequoia Langsdorffii, -Sternbergi, and Couttsiæ, Taxodium dubium, Glyptostrobus europæus, -Thujopsis europæa. Among leafy trees are--Fagus Deucalionis, Quercus -Olafseni, Platanus aceroides, willows, beeches, Acer, Otopteryx, -tulip-tree, walnuts, Magnolia Inglefieldi, Prunus Scottii, Tilia -Malmgreni, Corylus M'Quarrii, Alnus Kefersteinii, Daphnogene Kannii, -probably one of the Lauraceæ; and among Proteaceæ, MacClintockia? and -Hakea. In Greenland are found species of Rhamnus, Paliurus, Cornus, -Ilex, Cratægus, Andromeda, Myrica, Ivy, and Vine. From the flora of -Spitzbergen, in the Miocene epoch, we may conclude that under 79° -N. lat. the mean temperature of the year may have been 41° Fahr., -while at the same epoch that of Switzerland was 69°·8 Fahr.; judging -from the analogy of floras, it appears that the mean temperature -has fallen 6°·9. From this it follows that at Spitzbergen, at -78° N. lat., the mean temperature was perhaps 41°·9 Fahr. In -Greenland, at 70°, it would be 49°·1 Fahr., and in Iceland and on -the Mackenzie, in lat. 65°, it would be 52°·7 Fahr. At the Miocene -epoch the temperature seems to have been much more uniform, the -mean heat diminishing much more gradually in proportion as the pole -was approached. The isothermal line of 32° Fahr. might have fallen -upon the pole, while now it is situated under 58° N. (See Heer's -conclusions as to changes of temperature depending on proportion -of sea and land, eccentricity of the earth, and the earth moving -through warm and cold spaces in the universe--Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th -ser. i. 66.) - -In speaking of the Polar flora of former epochs, Heer says that every -plant executes a slow and continuous migration. These migrations, -the starting-point of which is the distant past, are recorded in -the rocks; and the interweaving of the carpets of flowers which -adorn our present creation retraces them for us in its turn. For -the vegetation of the present day is closely connected with that of -preceding epochs; and throughout all these vegetable creations reigns -_one_ thought, which not only reveals itself around us by thousands -upon thousands of images, but strikes us everywhere in the icy -regions of the extreme north. Organic nature may become impoverished -there, and even disappear when a cold mantle of ice extends over the -whole earth; but where the flowers die the rocks speak, and relate -the marvels of creation; they tell us that even in the most distant -countries, and in the remotest parts, nature was governed by the same -laws and the same harmony as immediately around us.[24] - - - - -_FLORA OF THE PLIOCENE EPOCH._ - - -The flora of the Pliocene epoch has a great analogy to that of the -temperate regions of Europe, North America, and Japan. We meet with -Coniferæ, Amentiferæ, Rosaceæ, Leguminosæ, Rhamnaceæ, Aceraceæ, -Aquifoliaceæ, Ericaceæ, and many other orders. There is a small -number of Dicotyledons with gamopetalous corollas. The twenty -species with such corollas recognised by Brongniart are referred to -the Hypogynous Gamopetalous group of Exogens, which in the general -organisation of the flowers approach nearest to Dialypetalæ. In -this flora there is the predominance of Dicotyledons in number and -variety; there are few Monocotyledons. No species appear to be -identical, at least with the plants which now grow in Europe. Thus -the flora of Europe, even at the most recent geological epoch of the -Tertiary period, was very different from the European flora of the -present day. - -Taking the natural orders which have at least four representatives, -Raulin[25] gives the following statement as to the Tertiary flora -of central Europe. The Eocene flora of Europe is composed of 128 -species, of which 115 belong to Algæ, Characeæ, Pandanaceæ, Palmæ, -Naiadaceæ, Malvaceæ, Sapindaceæ, Proteaceæ, Papilionaceæ, and -Cupressineæ. The Miocene flora has 112 species, of which 69 belong to -Algæ, Palmæ, Naiadaceæ, Apocynaceæ, Aceraceæ, Lauraceæ, Papilionaceæ, -Platanaceæ, Quercineæ, Myricaceæ, and Abietineæ. The Pliocene -flora has 258 species, of which 226 belong to Algæ, Fungi, Musci, -Filices, Palmæ, Ericaceæ, Aquifoliaceæ, Aceraceæ, Ulmaceæ, Rhamnaceæ, -Papilionaceæ, Juglandaceæ, Salicaceæ, Quercineæ, Betulaceæ, Taxaceæ, -Cupressineæ, and Abietineæ. The Eocene species are included in -genera which belong at the present day to inter-tropical regions, -comprising in them India and the Asiatic islands of Australia. Some -are peculiar to the Mediterranean region. The aquatic plants, which -form almost one-third of the flora, belong to genera now peculiar to -the temperate regions of Europe and of North America, or occurring -everywhere. The Miocene species belong to genera, of which several -are found in India, tropical America, and the other inter-tropical -regions, but which for the most part inhabit the sub-tropical and -temperate regions, including the United States. Some of the genera -are peculiar to the temperate regions. The aquatic genera, poor in -species, occur everywhere, or else solely in the temperate regions. -The Pliocene species belong to genera which almost all inhabit the -temperate regions, either of the old continent or of the United -States. A few only are of genera existing in India, Japan, and the -north of Africa. These various floras, which present successively -the character of those of inter-tropical, sub-tropical, and -temperate regions, seem to indicate that central Europe has, since -the commencement of the Tertiary period, been subjected, during -the succession of time, to the influence of these three different -temperatures. It would appear, then, Raulin remarks, that the climate -of Europe has during the Tertiary period gradually become more -temperate. - -Brown coal occurs in the upper Tertiary beds, and in it vegetable -structure is easily seen under the microscope. Goeppert, on examining -the brown coal deposits of northern Germany and the Rhine, finds that -Coniferæ predominate in a remarkable degree; among 300 specimens of -bituminous wood collected in the Silesian brown coal deposits alone, -only a very few other kinds of Exogenous wood occur. This seems -remarkable, inasmuch as in the clays of the brown coal formation -in many other places leaves of deciduous Dicotyledonous trees have -been found; and yet the stems on which we may suppose them to have -grown are wanting. The leaves have been floated away from the place -where they grew by a current of water which was not powerful enough -to transport the stems. The coniferous plants of these brown coal -deposits belong to Taxineæ and Cupressineæ chiefly; among the plants -are Pinites protolarix and Taxites Ayckii. Many of the Coniferæ -exhibit highly compressed, very narrow annual rings, such as occur in -Coniferæ of northern latitudes. Goeppert has described a trunk, or -rather the lower end of a trunk, of Pinites protolarix, discovered -in 1849 in the brown coal of Laasan in Silesia. It was found in a -nearly perpendicular position, and measured more than 32 feet in -circumference. Sixteen vast roots ran out almost at right angles from -the base of the trunk, of which about four feet stood up perfect in -form, but stripped of bark. Unfortunately the interior of the stem -was almost entirely filled with structureless brown coal, so that -only two cross sections could be obtained from the outer parts, one -sixteen inches, the other three feet six inches broad. In the first -section Goeppert counted 700, in the second 1300 rings of wood, so -that for the half-diameter of 5½ feet, at least 2200 rings must have -existed. As there is every reason to believe that the rings were -formed in earlier ages just as the annual zones are now, this tree -would be from 2200 to 2500 years old. Exogenous stems in lignite are -often of great size and age. In a trunk near Bonn, Nöggerath counted -792 annual rings. In the turf bogs of the Somme, at Yseux near -Abbeville, a trunk of an oak-tree has been found above 14 feet in -diameter. - - - - -_GENERAL CONCLUSIONS._ - - -We have thus seen that the vegetation of the globe is represented -by numerous distinct floras connected with the different periods -of its history, and that the farther back we go, the more are the -plants different from those of the present day. There can be no doubt -that there have been successive deposits of stratified rocks, and -successive creations of living beings. We see that animals and plants -have gone through their different phases of existence, and that their -remains in all stages of growth and decay have been imbedded in rocks -superimposed upon each other in regular succession. It is impossible -to conceive that these were the result of changes produced within the -limits of a few days. Considering the depth of stratification, and -the condition and nature of the living beings found in the strata at -various depths, we must conclude (unless our senses are mocked by -the phenomena presented to our view) that vast periods have elapsed -since the Creator in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. -How far it may be possible in the future to correlate the history -of the earth inscribed on its rocky tablets and deciphered by the -geologist, and that short narrative which forms the introduction to -the Sacred Volume, it is too difficult to say. At present there are -no satisfactory materials for such a correlation; but one thing is -certain, that both Revelation and Geology testify with one voice to -the work of a Divine Creator. - -"Who shall declare (Hugh Miller remarks) what through long ages the -history of creation has been? We see at wide intervals the mere -fragments of successive Floras; but know not how, what seem the -blank interspaces, were filled; or how, as extinction overtook in -succession one tribe of existences after another, and species, like -individuals, yielded to the great law of death, yet other species -were brought to the birth, and ushered upon the scene, and the chain -of being was maintained unbroken. We see only detached bits of -that green web which has covered our earth ever since the dry land -first appeared. But the web itself seems to have been continuous -throughout all time; though, as breadth after breadth issued from -the creative loom, the pattern was altered, and the sculpturesque -and graceful forms that illustrated its first beginnings and its -middle spaces have yielded to flowers of richer colour and blow, and -fruits of fairer shade and outline; and for gigantic club-mosses -stretching forth their hirsute arms, goodly trees of the Lord have -expanded their great boughs; and for the barren fern and the calamite -clustering in thickets beside the waters, or spreading on flowerless -hill-slopes, luxuriant orchards have yielded their ruddy flush, and -rich harvests their golden gleam." - -When we find animals and plants, of forms unknown at the present -day, in all stages of development, we read a lesson as to the -history of the earth's former state as conclusive as that which -is derived from the Nineveh relics (independent of Revelation) in -regard to the history of the human race. There is no want of harmony -between Scripture and Geology. The Word and the Works of God must -be in unison, and the more we truly study both, the more they will -be found to be in accordance. Any apparent want of correspondence -proceeds either from imperfect interpretation of Scripture or from -incomplete knowledge of science. The changes in the globe have all -preceded man's appearance on the scene. He is the characteristic -of the present epoch, and he knows by Revelation that the world is -to undergo a further transformation, when the elements shall melt -with fervent heat, and when all the present state of things shall be -dissolved, ere the ushering in of a new earth, wherein righteousness -is to dwell. - - - - -_RECAPITULATION._ - - -Recapitulation of the chief points connected with Fossil Botany:-- - - 1. The vegetation of the globe has varied at different epochs of - the earth's history. - - 2. The farther we recede in geological history from the present - day, the greater is the difference between the fossil plants and - those which now occupy the surface. - - 3. All fossil plants may be referred to the great classes of - plants of the present day, Acotyledons, Monocotyledons, and - Dicotyledons. - - 4. The fossil species are different from those of the present - flora, and it is only when we reach the Tertiary periods that we - meet with some genera which are without doubt identical. - - 5. Fossil plants are preserved in various conditions, according - to the nature of their structure, and the mode in which they have - been acted upon. Sometimes mere casts of the plants are found, at - other times they are carbonised and converted into coal, while - at other times, besides being carbonised, they are infiltrated - with calcareous or siliceous matter, and finally, they may be - petrified. - - 6. Cellular plants, and the cellular portions of vascular plants, - have rarely been preserved, while woody species, and especially - Ferns, which are very indestructible, have retained their forms - in many instances. - - 7. In some cases, especially when silicified or charred, the - structure of the woody stems can be easily seen in thin sections - under the microscope. - - 8. The determination of fossil plants is a matter of great - difficulty, and requires a thorough knowledge of structure, and - of the markings on stems, roots, etc. - - 9. The rocks containing organic remains are called fossiliferous, - and are divided into Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary, or into - Palæozoic, Mesozoic, and Cainozoic, each of these series being - characterised by a peculiar facies of vegetable life. - - 10. The mere absence of organic remains will not always be a - correct guide as to the state of the globe. - - 11. The number of fossil species has been estimated at between - 3000 and 4000; but many parts of plants are described as separate - species, and even genera, and hence the number is perhaps greater - than it ought to be. - - 12. Brongniart divides the fossil flora into three great - epochs:--1. The reign of Acrogens; 2. The reign of Gymnosperms; - 3. The reign of Angiosperms. - - 13. The reign of Acrogens embraces the Silurian, Carboniferous, - and Permian epochs, in which there was a predominance of plants - belonging to the natural orders Filices, Lycopodiaceæ, and - Equisetaceæ, associated, however, with others of a higher class. - - 14. The reign of Gymnosperms embraces the lower and middle - Secondary periods, and is characterised by the presence of - numerous Coniferæ and Cycadaceæ. - - 15. The reign of Angiosperms includes the Cretaceous and Tertiary - periods, and is marked by the predominance of Angiospermous - Dicotyledons. - - 16. Coal is a vague term, referring to all kinds of fuel formed - from the chemically-altered remains of plants. - - 17. When there is a great admixture of mineral matter, so that it - will not burn as fuel, then a shale is produced. - - 18. The microscopic structure of Coal probably varies according - to the nature of the plants of which it is composed, and the - changes produced by pressure, heat, and other causes. Cellular - tissue, punctated woody tissue, and scalariform vessels, have - been detected in it. - - 19. Certain temporary and local floras seem to have given origin - to peculiar layers of coal. - - 20. During the Carboniferous epoch we meet with Ferns, - Sigillarias, and their roots called Stigmarias, Lepidodendrons, - Ulodendrons, Calamites, Gymnosperms, etc. - - 21. The plants forming coal have grown in the basin where the - coal is found; but sandstone rocks in the coal-measures deposited - by water having a considerable velocity, and consequently - carrying power, contain sometimes trunks of large trees which - have been drifted like snags. - - 22. The strata between the Permian epoch and Chalk display - numerous Gymnosperms, especially belonging to the Cycadaceous - Order. Some of them exhibit limited coal deposits. - - 23. The Chalk and Tertiary strata display not only Acrogens and - Gymnosperms, but also Angiospermous Dicotyledons, some of which, - at the Miocene period, belong apparently to genera of the present - day. - - 24. Brown Coal occurs in the Upper Tertiary beds, and in it - vegetable structure is easily seen under the microscope. - - 25. Raulin thinks that during the Tertiary epoch the flora of - Europe has gradually assumed a more temperate character. - - 26. The Eocene flora, according to Unger, resembled in many - respects that of Australia at the present day. - - 27. The Miocene flora is characterised by a number of exotic - forms of warm regions with those of temperate climates. It is - largely seen in the Arctic Regions. - - 28. The Pliocene flora has great analogy with that of the - temperate regions of Europe, North America, and Japan. - - - - -_WORKS ON FOSSIL BOTANY._ - - -On the subject of Fossil Botany the following works may be -consulted:-- - - Abhandlungen der Kaiserlich Königlichen Geologischen - Reichsanstalt, Band. ii. Wien. 1855. - - Argyll, Duke of, on Tertiary Leaf-Beds in the Isle of Mull, - Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., vii. May 1851. - - Balfour, J. H., on certain Vegetable Organisms in Coal from - Fordel, Trans. R.S.E., vol. xxi. p. 187. - - Baily, W. H., Figures of Characteristic British Fossils, 1871-2. - - Bennett, J. Hughes, on the Structure of Torbane Hill Mineral and - other Coals, Trans. R. Soc. Ed., vol. xxi. p. 173. - - Binney, E. W., on Calamites and Calamodendron, Palæontographical - Society's Memoirs, 1868. - - ---- on the Structure of Fossil Plants found in the Carboniferous - Strata. Palæontographical Society's Memoirs, 1871. - - ---- Description of some Fossil Plants, showing Structure in the - Lower Coal Seam of Lancaster and Yorkshire, Phil. Trans., vol. - 155, p. 579. - - Bowerbank, Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the London Clay. - - Brongniart, Histoire des Végétaux Fossiles, 1828-44. - - ---- Observations sur la Structure intérieure du Sigillaria, - etc., in Archives du Museum, i. 405. - - ---- Exposition Chronologique des Périodes de Végétation, in Ann. - des Sc. Nat. 3d series, Bot. xi. 285. - - Carruthers, on Gymnospermatous Fruits from the Secondary Rocks of - Britain, Journ. Bot., Jan. 1867. - - ---- on the Structure of the Stems of the Arborescent - Lycopodiaceæ of the Coal Measures, Nos. i. to iv., Month. - Microsc. Journ., vols. i. ii. iv. - - ---- on the Cryptogamic Forests of the Coal Period, Paper read - before the Royal Institution of Great Britain, 16th April 1869. - - ---- on the Structure and Affinities of Sigillaria and Allied - Genera, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., Aug. 1869. - - ---- on a Fossil Cone from the Coal Measures, Geol. Mag., 1865. - - ---- on Caulopteris punctata, _ibid._ - - ---- on Araucaria Cones from the Secondary Beds of Britain, - _ibid._ 1866. - - ---- on an Aroideous Fruit from the Stonesfield Slate, _ibid._ - 1867. - - ---- on Cycadoidea Yatesii, _ibid._ 1867. - - ---- on the Structure of the Fruit of Calamites, Journal of - Botany, 1867. - - ---- on British Fossil Pandanaceæ, _ibid._ 1868. - - ---- on British Fossil Coniferæ, _ibid._ 1869. - - ---- on the Petrified Forest near Cairo, Geol. Mag., vii. 306. - - ---- on the Structure of a Fern-Stem from the Lower Eocene, - Journ. Geol. Soc., xxvi. 349. - - ---- on the Structure and Affinities of Lepidodendron and - Calamites, Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin., viii. 495. - - ---- on some Fossil Coniferous Fruits, Geol. Mag., vols. iii. vi. - - ---- on Beania, a new genus of Cycadean Fruit, from the Yorkshire - Oolites, Geol. Mag., vol. vi. - - ---- on Plant-remains from the Brazilian Coal-beds, with Remarks - on the genus Flemingites, Geol. Mag., vol. vi. - - ---- on the Fossil Cycadaceous Stems from the Secondary Rocks of - Britain, Linn. Trans., xxvi. 675. - - ---- on the History and Affinities of the British Coniferæ, Brit. - Assoc. Reports, 40th Meeting, p. 71. - - Carruthers, List of New Genera and Species of Fossil Plants, Nos. - i. ii. and iii., Journal of Botany, vols. viii. ix. x. - - Coalfields, by a Traveller under ground. - - Corda, Beiträge zur Flora der Vorwelt, Prag. 1845. - - Cotta, Dendrolithen, Leipzig, 1850. - - Dawson, J. W., on Spore-Cases in Coal, Ann. Nat. Hist., 1871, p. - 321. - - ---- on Vegetable Structures in Coal, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., - 1860. - - ---- on the Pre-Carboniferous Flora of New Brunswick and Eastern - Canada, Canadian Naturalist, May 1861. - - ---- on the Flora of the Devonian Period in North-Eastern - America, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., Nov. 1862. - - ---- on an Erect Sigillaria and a Carpolite from Nova Scotia, - Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond. - - ---- on Calamites, Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. vol. iv. 272. - - ---- on the Varieties and Mode of Preservation of the Fossils - known as Sternbergiæ, Canadian Naturalist; also in Edin. New - Phil. Journal, N.S. vii. 140. - - ---- Acadian Geology, 1868. - - ---- the Fossil Plants of the Devonian and Upper Silurian - Formations of Canada, Geol. Survey of Canada, 1871. - - ---- on the Pre-Carboniferous Floras of North-Eastern America, - with special reference to that of the Erian (Devonian) Period, - Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., May 5, 1870. - - ---- on the Graphite of the Laurentian Rocks of Canada, Quart. - Journ. Geol. Soc., xxvi. 112. - - Dunker, Zettel, and Meyer, Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der - Vorwelt. - - Ettingshausen, Beiträge zur Flora der Vorwelt in Abhandlungen der - Geolog. Reichsanstalt, Vienna, 1851. - - Forbes, on Tertiary Leaf-Beds in the Isle of Mull, discovered by - the Duke of Argyll, F.G.S., with a note on the Vegetable Remains - from Ardtun Head, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., vol. vii. - - Giebel, Palæontologie. - - Goeppert, Beiträge zur Bernsteinflora; sur la Structure de la - Houille. - - ---- Die Gattungen der Fossilen Pflanzen, Bonn, 1841. - - ---- Monographie des Fossilen Coniferen, 1850. - - ---- Systema Filicum Fossilium, Nova Acta, xvii. - - ---- Ueber die Fossilen Cycadeen, Breslau, 1844. - - ---- Erläuterung der Steinkohlen-Formation. - - Goeppert, Die Fossile Flora der Permischen Formation, - Palæontographica, Hermann von Meyer, Cassel, 1864. - - ---- Beiträge zur Kenntniss Fossilen Cycadeen, Breslau. - - Grand d'Eury, on Calamites and Asterophyllites, Ann. Nat. Hist., - ser. 4, vol. iv. 124. - - Harkness, on Coal, Edin. Phil. Journ., July 1854. - - Heer, Flora Tertiaria Helvetiæ, 3 vols. - - ---- Flora Fossilis Arctica, 1868-1871. - - ---- on the Fossil Flora of Bovey Tracey, Phil. Trans. R.S.L., - 152, p. 1039. - - ---- on the Fossil Flora of North Greenland, Phil. Trans., vol. - 159, p. 445. - - Hooker, on Some Minute Seed-Vessels (Carpolithes ovulum, - Brongniart) from the Eocene beds of Lewisham, Proceed. Geol. - Soc., 1855. - - ---- Vegetation of the Carboniferous Period, in Mem. of Geol. - Survey, ii. - - ---- on a New Species of Volkmannia, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. - Lond., May 1854. - - King, on Sigillaria, etc., in Edin. New Phil. Journal, xxxvi. - - Lesquereux, on the Coal Measures of America, Silliman's Journal, - 1863. - - Lindley and Hutton, Fossil Flora, 3 vols. A revision of the - original work, with a supplementary volume containing the recent - additions, and a Synopsis of the Fossil Plants of Britain by Mr. - W. Carruthers, is announced as about to be published. - - Lowry, Table of the Characteristic Fossils of Different - Formations. - - M'Nab, on the Structure of a Lignite (_Palæopitys_) from the Old - Red Sandstone, Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin., x. 312. - - Mueller and Smyth, on Some Vegetable Fossils from Victoria, Geol. - Mag., vii. 390. - - Meyer, Hermann Von, Palæontographica. Beiträge zur - Naturgeschichte der Vorwelt, 1864. - - Nicholson, on the Occurrence of Plants in the Skiddaw Slates, - Geol. Mag., vol. vi. - - Paterson, Description of Pothocites Grantoni, a New Fossil - Vegetable from the Coal Formation, Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin., vol. i. - - Penny Cyclopædia, vol. vii., Coal Plants. - - Pictet, Traité de Paléontologie. - - Quekett, on the Minute Structure of Torbane Hill Mineral, Journ. - Microsc. Sc., 1854. - - Raulin, Flore de l'Europe pendant la Période Tertiaire, in Ann. - des Sc. Nat., 3d ser. x. 193. - - Redfern, on the Nature of the Torbane Hill and other Varieties of - Coal, Brit. Assoc. Liverpool, 1854. - - Roehl, A. von, Fossile Flore der Steinkohlen Formation - Westphalens. - - Saporta, Etudes sur la Végétation du Sud-Est de la France à - l'Epoque Tertiaire, Annales des Sciences Naturelles, ser. 4, tome - xvi. 309, xvii. 191, xix. 5; ser. 5, tome iii. 5, iv. 5. - - Schenk, Professor, die Fossile Flore der Nordwest Deutschen - Wealden Formation. - - Schimper, Traité de Paléontologie Végétale, 1870-71. - - Tate, on the Fossil Flora of the Mountain Limestone Formation of - the Eastern Borders, in connection with the Natural History of - Coal (in Johnstone's Eastern Borders). - - Torbane Coal, as noticed in the Report of the Trial as to the - substance called Torbane Mineral or Torbanite. - - Unger, Genera et Species Plantarum Fossilium. - - ---- Chloris Protogæa. - - ---- Le Monde Primitive (a work which contains picturesque views - of the supposed state of the earth at different geological - epochs). - - ---- on the Flora of the Eocene Epoch, Journ. Bot., iii. 39. - - Weber and Wersel, Die Tertiarflore der Nieder Sheinescher - Braunkohlen Formation. - - Williamson, W. C., on the Organisation of the Fossil Plants of - the Coal Measures, Ann. Nat. Hist., 1871, p. 134. - - ---- on the Structure and Affinities of the Plants hitherto known - as Sternbergiæ, Mem. Manch. Lit. and Phil. Soc., ix. - - ---- on a New Form of Calamitean Strobilus, from the Lancashire - Coal Measures, Mem. Lit. Phil. Soc. Manchester, vol. iv. 3d - series. - - ---- on the Structure of the Woody Zone of an Undescribed Form of - Calamite, Mem. Lit. Phil. Soc. Manchester, vols. iv. and viii. 3d - series. - - ---- on Volkmannia Dawsoni, _ibid._ 1870-71. - - ---- on Zamia gigas (Williamsonia gigas), Linn. Trans., xxvi. 663. - - ---- on the Organisation of Fossil Plants of the Coal Measures, - Part I., Calamites, Phil. Trans. R.S.L., vol. 161, p. 477. - - Witham, on the Structure of Fossil Vegetables. - - Yates, on Zamia gigas, Proceed. Yorkshire Phil. Soc., April 1847. - - Young, J., and Armstrong, Jas., on the Carboniferous Fossils of - the West of Scotland, Trans. Geol. Soc. Glas., vol. iii. - - Besides geological treatises such as those of Ansted, - Beudant, Jukes, Lyell, and others. - - - - -EXPLANATION OF PLATES. - - -PLATE I. - - Fig. 1. Palæopteris Hibernica, Schimper (Cyclopteris Hibernica, - Forbes). One-sixth the natural size. - - Fig. 2. A pinnule somewhat magnified, showing the venation. - - Fig. 3. A fertile pinna, natural size. - - Fig. 4. Two cup-shaped indusia borne on the rachis. - - Fig. 5. Sporangia enclosing spores. From the Coal-measures. - - Fig. 6. Sporangia of Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense, Sm. (Fern of - present epoch.) - - Fig. 7. Sporangium of Polypodium vulgare, Linn. (Fern of present - epoch.) Figs. 5, 6, and 7, magnified to the same extent. - - Fig. 8. Transverse section of Osmundites Dowkeri, Carruthers. - - Fig. 9. Two cells of Osmundites, filled, the one with starch - granules, and the other with mycelium of a fungus. - - -PLATE II. - - Fig. 1. Cycadeostrobus ovatus, Carr. From the Wealden, Isle of - Wight. - - Fig. 2. Beania gracilis, Carr. From the Yorkshire Oolite. - - Fig. 3. Bennettites Saxbyanus, Carr. From the Lower Greensand of - the Isle of Wight. - - Fig. 4. Pinites Leckenbyi, Carr. From the Lower Greensand of the - Isle of Wight. - - Fig. 5. Trigonocarpon olivæforme, Lindl. and Hutt. From the - Coal-measures, Manchester. - - Fig. 6. Trigonocarpon sulcatum, Carr. Coal-measures, Wardie, - Edinburgh. - - Fig. 7. Sequoiites Gardneri, Carr. From the Gault at Folkestone. - - Figs. 8, 9. Cupressinites Thujoides, Bowerbank. From the Eocene - at Sheppey. - - Fig. 10. Scale of Araucarites Brodiei, Carr. From the Great - Oolite at Stonesfield. - - Fig. 11. Scale of Araucarites Phillipsii, Carr. From the Oolite - of Yorkshire. - - All the figures on this Plate (except Fig. 2, which is one-half - of the natural size) are drawn the size of nature. - - -PLATE III. - - Fig. 1. Mass of coal from Fordel, Fifeshire, containing numerous - sporangia of Flemingites. These sporangia occur in coal from - different localities in England and Scotland. Binney has seen - them in Wigan coal. Huxley has found them abounding in coal near - Bradford (Balfour, R.S.E. Trans.) - - Fig. 2. One of the Sporangia entire, and separated from the coal - (Balfour). - - Fig. 3. Sporangium with its valves separated, containing a - quantity of black carbonaceous matter in its interior (Balfour). - This matter is formed by the altered spores (microspores). - - Fig. 4. Sporangium, showing the triradiate marking on the under - surface, and a granulation produced probably by the spores in the - interior. - - Fig. 5. Punctated woody tissue (Coniferous). From the needle coal - of Toplitz, Bohemia (Harkness). - - Fig. 6. Scalariform vessels from coal (Balfour). - - Fig. 7. Stigmaria, with markings of rootlets. One showing the - papilla to which the rootlet was articulated (Hooker). - - Fig. 8. Transverse section of Stigmaria, showing the vascular - cylinder divided into wedges (Hooker). - - Fig. 9. Tissues of Stigmaria, showing the inner portion of the - vascular cylinder (Hooker). - - Fig. 10. Transverse section of a Lepidostrobus, the - fructification of Lepidodendron, showing scales and sporangia - (Hooker). - - Fig. 11. Ulodendron Taylori (Carruthers). - - -PLATE IV. - - Fig. 1. Sigillaria Brownii, restored (Dawson). - - Fig. 2. Sigillaria elegans, restored (Dawson). - - Fig. 3. Lepidodendron, restored (Carruthers, Bot. Soc. Trans.) - - Fig. 4. Calamites, restored (Carruthers, Bot. Soc. Trans.) - - Fig. 5. Psilophyton, a fossil of the Devonian epoch (Dawson). - - -[Illustration: Pl. I. - - A. T. Hollick del. et lith. Mintern Bros. imp. - -Fossil Ferns.] - - -[Illustration: Pl. II. - - A. T. Hollick del. et lith. Mintern Bros. imp. - -Fossil Gymnospermous Fruits.] - - -[Illustration: Pl. III. - - M^cFarlane & Erskine, Lith^{rs} Edin^r - -Coal and Coal-Plants.] - - -[Illustration: Pl. IV. - - M^cFarlane & Erskine, Lith^{rs} Edin^r - -Devonian and Carboniferous Flora.] - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abietites, 84, 85, 87. - - Acacia, 90, 92. - - Acanthocarpum, 72. - - Acer, 92, 97. - - Acerites, 87. - - Acrogens of present day, 26. - - Acrogens, fossil, reign of, 25, 26. - - Adiantites, 41. - - Æthophyllum, 79. - - Alder, 94. - - Alethopteris, 43, 72. - - Algæ, 35. - - Algæ of Cretaceous epoch, 87. - - Alnites, 87, 94. - - Alnus, 94, 97. - - Alsophila, 29. - - Amber, 90. - - Amber flora, Goeppert on the, 91. - - Amentiferæ, fossil, 92. - - Ancestrophyllum, 48. - - Andromeda, 96, 97. - - Angiosperms, fossil, reign of, 25, 87. - - Annularia, 61, 71. - - Anomopteris, 79. - - Anona, 97. - - Anthodiopsis, 72. - - Antholithes, 64. - - Anthracite, 36. - - Apocynaceæ, fossil, 92. - - Araucaria, 5, 6, 7, 85, 90. - - Araucarioxylon, structure of, 63. - - Araucarites, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87. - - Arctic fossil flora (Miocene), 97. - - Arctic Regions, Palæozoic flora of, 40. - - Arctic Regions, fossil wood of, 95. - - Arthropitys, 72. - - Artisia, 64. - - Asplenium, 28. - - Asterophyllites, 35, 61, 71. - - - Bambusium, 92. - - Bauhinia, 90, 92. - - Beania, 82. - - Bear Island, fossil flora of, 40, 59. - - Beeches, 97. - - Bennettiteæ, 86. - - Bennettites, 85, 87. - - Betula, 94, 97. - - Bothrodendron, 57. - - Bovey Tracey flora, 96. - - Bovey Tracey, Devonshire, lignite beds of, 96. - - Brachyphyllum, 80, 86, 87. - - Bryson's instrument for slitting, 14. - - Bucklandia, 84, 86. - - - Cæsalpinia, 90. - - Cainozoic period, fossil plants of, 87. - - Calamites, 35, 41, 53. - - Calamites, foliage and fruit (woodcut), 62. - - Calamites, structure of, 57. - - Calamites, structure of fruit, 60. - - Calamodendron, 59, 72. - - Callipteris, 72. - - Callitris, 90. - - Camptopteris, 79, 80. - - Carboniferous epoch, 36. - - Carboniferous vegetation, its general character, 69. - - Carbonisation, 9. - - Cardiocarpum, 41, 72, 78. - - Cardiocarpum, structure of, 64. - - Cardiopteris, 40. - - Carpinites, 87. - - Carpinus, 94. - - Carpolithes, 78, 83, 92, 97. - - Cassia, 90. - - Casts of plants, 8. - - Casuarina, 90. - - Caulinites, 90. - - Caulopteris, 43. - - Centrolobium, 90. - - Chalk flora, characteristics of, 87. - - Chara, 92. - - Characeæ, fossil, 91. - - Chondrites, 87. - - Cinchonaceæ, fossil, 92. - - Cinnamomum, 96. - - Classes to which fossil plants belong, 2. - - Climate as determined by fossil plants, 19. - - Climate of the Tertiary period, 100. - - Club-mosses, 26, 30. - - Coal-basins, 37. - - Coal, brown, structure of, 100. - - Coal, Fordel, 36, 56. - - Coal-formation, extent of, 38. - - Coal, household, 36. - - Coal-measures, flora of, 39. - - Coal, parrot, 36. - - Coal-plants, _in situ_, or drifted, 67. - - Coal, structure in, 36. - - Coal, Wigan cannel, 36. - - Coal of Oolitic epoch, 82. - - Coal of Tertiary beds, 100. - - Combretaceæ, fossil, 92. - - Comptonia, 92, 94. - - Comptonites, 87. - - Cones, fossil, of Wealden, 85. - - Confervites, 87. - - Coniferæ, 87. - - Coniferæ, modern, 72. - - Coniferæ, number of Miocene species, 97. - - Coniferæ, Oolitic, 80. - - Coniferæ, structure of recent, 74. - - Coniferæ of brown coal deposits, 100. - - Coniferæ of Miocene Arctic fossil flora, 97. - - Coniferæ of Secondary strata, 85. - - Coniferæ of Tertiary period, 89. - - Coniferous genera of Lias, 79. - - Coniferous vegetation of Upper Cretaceous period, appearance of, 89. - - Copaifera, 90. - - Cordaites, 35, 72. - - Cornus, 97. - - Corylus, 96, 97. - - Cratægus, 97. - - Credneria, 87. - - Crematopteris, 79. - - Cretaceous system, fossil plants of, 87. - - Crossozamia, 86. - - Cryptogamia, number of Miocene species of, 97. - - Cryptomeria, 87. - - Cryptomerites, 86. - - Ctenis, 78, 79. - - Cucumites, 90. - - Cunninghamites, 87. - - Cupressineæ, 89. - - Cupressoxylon, 93. - - Cyathea, 29. - - Cyatheites, 72. - - Cycadaceæ, 87. - - Cycadaceæ, fossil, Carruthers' arrangement of, 86. - - Cycadaceæ, modern, 72, 75. - - Cycadaceæ, Oolitic, 80. - - Cycadaceæ in Mesozoic period, 77. - - Cycadaceæ of Lias, 79. - - Cycadaceæ of Tertiary period, 89. - - Cycadaceæ of Wealden epoch, 84. - - Cycadeostrobus, 85. - - Cycadites, 44, 79, 84, 87. - - Cycadoidea, 83. - - Cycas, 76. - - Cyclopteris, 32, 35, 43, 72. - - Cyclostigma, 41. - - Cyperites, 48. - - Cystoseirites, 87. - - - Dadoxylon, 35, 63. - - Dalbergia, 90. - - Dammarites, 87. - - Daphnogene, 92, 96, 97. - - Dawson on Devonian fossils, 35. - - Desmodophyllum, 92. - - Dicotyledons of Pliocene epoch, 98. - - Dictyothalamus, 72. - - Didymophyllum, 48. - - Didymosorus, 95. - - Dioonopteris, 72. - - Dirt-bed, Portland, 83. - - Dolichites, 92. - - Drepanocarpus, 90. - - Dryandroides, 96. - - - Echitonium, 92, 96. - - Encephalartos, 76. - - Entada, 90. - - Eocene epoch, Algæ of, 90. - - Eocene epoch, characteristics of, 90. - - Eocene epoch, Coniferæ of, 90, 91. - - Eocene epoch, flora of, 89, 90. - - Eocene epoch, fruits of, 90. - - Eozoon Canadense, 31. - - Equisetaceæ, 29, 59. - - Equisetites, 71. - - Equisetum, 31, 53, 79, 94, 95. - - Equisetum spores, 32. - - Equisetum, structure of fruit, 60. - - Erian fossil plants, 35. - - Erythrina, 92. - - Exogenous trees of Carboniferous epoch, 62. - - - Fagus, 94, 97. - - Favularia, 46. - - Fern-flora in connection with climate, 41. - - Ferns, 96. - - Ferns, structure of, 29. - - Ferns of Carboniferous strata, 41. - - Ferns of present day, 26. - - Ficus, 96. - - Fig, evergreen, 96. - - Filicites, 94. - - Fittonia, 86, 87. - - Flabellaria, 64, 87. - - Flemingites, 51, 52, 57. - - Floras of present day in connection with fossil plants, 19. - - Folliculites, 92. - - Fossil botany, recapitulation of chief points connected with, 103. - - Fossil botany, list of works treating of, 105. - - Fossil plants compared with modern plants, 3, 4. - - Fossil plants, determination of, 3. - - Fossil plants, mode of preservation of, 8. - - Fossil plants, number of, 23. - - Fossiliferous periods, according to Brongniart, 25. - - Fossiliferous rocks, 20. - - Fructification in ferns of Carboniferous epoch, 40. - - Fruits, fossil, of Isle of Sheppey, 90. - - Fungi, fossil, 91. - - - Gardenia, 97. - - Gault, Coniferæ of, 80, 85. - - Getonia, 92. - - Glyptostrobus, 97. - - Grès bigarré, 78. - - Gymnosperms, fossil, reign of, 25. - - Gyrogonites, 92. - - - Haidingera, 78. - - Hakea, 97. - - Halonia, 57. - - Heer's list of plants from the Bovey Tracey Miocene formation, 96. - - Heer on the migration of plants, 98. - - Heer on the number of species in the Arctic fossil flora, 97. - - Heer's remarks on the Polar flora, 98. - - Hightea, 90. - - Horse-tails, 29. - - Huttonia, 71. - - Hymenophylleæ, 34. - - Hymenophyllites, 71. - - Hymenophyllum, 35. - - - Ilex, 97. - - Infiltration, 9. - - Inga, 90. - - Isoetes, 27, 49, 89. - - Ivy, 97. - - - Juglandites, 87. - - Jurassic period of Brongniart, 79. - - - Kaidacarpum, 84. - - Keupric period, 79. - - Kimmeridge Clay, Coniferæ of, 85. - - Knorria, 41, 48, 57. - - Knorria, phyllotaxis of, 55. - - - Lastrea, 29. - - Lauraceæ, 97. - - Lauraceæ, fossil, 92. - - Laurel, 96. - - Laurentian rocks, 31. - - Laurus, 92, 96. - - Leaf-beds of Ardtun, Mull, 93. - - Leaf-beds of Bournemouth, 95. - - Leaf-beds, genera of, 94. - - Leguminosæ, fossil, 92. - - Leguminosites, 90. - - Lepidodendron, 35, 41, 49. - - Lepidodendron, phyllotaxis of, 54. - - Lepidophloios, 57. - - Lepidophyllum, 41, 56. - - Lepidostrobus, 35, 50, 52. - - Lias, Coniferæ of, 80. - - Lias, fossil plants of, 79. - - Libocedrus, 90. - - Lignite, 32. - - Lignite beds of Bovey Tracey, 96. - - Lignites, 9. - - Lonchopteris, 43, 84. - - Lough Neagh, Miocene formation of, 93. - - Lower Greensand, cone of, 89. - - Lower Greensand, Coniferæ of, 85. - - Lycopodiaceæ, 49, 54. - - Lycopodiaceæ, modern, 26. - - Lycopodites, 56. - - Lycopodium, 30, 53. - - - MacClintockia, 97. - - Macrospores, 30. - - Magnolia, 97. - - Mantellia, 83, 84, 86. - - Marsilea, 31, 33. - - Marsileaceæ, 31. - - Mesozoic period, flora of the, 72. - - Microspores, 30. - - Microzamia, 87. - - Mimosa, 90. - - Mimosites, 92. - - Miocene epoch, flora of, 89, 92. - - Miocene period, temperature of, 97. - - Mull, leaf-beds of, 93. - - Mull, Miocene formation of, 93. - - Munsteria, 87. - - Myrica, 94, 97. - - - Naiadaceæ, 87. - - Natural orders to which fossil plants belong, 22. - - Neuropterideæ, 41. - - Neuropteris, 42, 71. - - Nicolia, 11. - - Nicol's mode of preparing sections, 13. - - Nilssonia, 79. - - Nipadites, 90. - - Noeggerathia, 64, 71, 72. - - Nymphæa, 97. - - - Odontopteris, 42, 72. - - Oolitic epoch, flora of, 80. - - Oolite, fruits of, 83. - - Oolite, Inferior, Coniferæ of, 86. - - Oolite, Lower, 82. - - Oolite, Scottish, plants of, 81. - - Oolite, Upper, 82. - - Oolite, Yorkshire, 83. - - Osmunda, 89. - - Osmundites, 91. - - Otopteryx, 97. - - Otozamites, 79. - - Oxford Clay, Coniferæ of, 86. - - - Palæophytology, 1. - - Palæopitys, 32. - - Palæopteris, 32, 34, 41. - - Palæozamia, 79. - - Palæozoic or Primary period, 26. - - Palæozoology, 1. - - Palissya, 80, 86. - - Paliurus, 97. - - Palm, 96. - - Palmacites, 87, 90, 96. - - Pandanaceæ, 84. - - Pecopteris, 42, 96. - - Pecopterideæ, 41. - - Pepperworts, 31. - - Permian flora, 71. - - Permian period, fruits of, 72. - - Petrifaction, 9. - - Petrified forests, 11. - - Pence, 64, 80, 82, 86, 89. - - Phanerogamia, number of Miocene species of, 97. - - Phaseolites, 92. - - Phœnicites, 92. - - Phyllotaxis, 54, 55. - - Pilularia, 31. - - Pinites, 78, 85, 86, 87, 89, 100. - - Pinites, structure of, 63. - - Pinus, 86, 94, 97. - - Pissadendron, 63. - - Pitus, structure of, 64. - - Plane, 94. - - Platanites, 94. - - Platanus, 97. - - Pliocene epoch, flora of the, 89, 98. - - Plumiera, 92. - - Podocarpus, 90. - - Podocarya, 84. - - Portland beds, 82. - - Portland Crag, 82. - - Portland stone, Coniferæ of, 85. - - Pothocites, 66. - - Proteaceæ, fossil, 92, 97. - - Protopteris, 87. - - Prototaxites, 35. - - Prunus, 97. - - Psaronius, 44, 71. - - Psilophyton, 35. - - Pterocarpus, 90. - - Pterophyllum, 84, 79. - - Purbeck, Coniferæ of, 85. - - Purbeck period, 83. - - - Quercus, 94, 96, 97. - - - Raulin on the Tertiary flora of Central Europe, 99. - - Raumeria, 86. - - Recapitulation of chief points connected with fossil botany, 103. - - Rhabdocarpum, 72, 77. - - Rhamnites, 94, 95. - - Rhamnus, 94, 97. - - Rhizocarpeæ, 31. - - Rings, number of annual, in fossil Exogens, 100. - - - Sagenopteris, 71, 79. - - Salicites, 87. - - Salix, 97. - - Sargassites, 87. - - Scalariform vessels, 30. - - Schizopteris, 43. - - Secondary period, flora of the, 72. - - Sections of fossils for microscope, 12. - - Selaginella, 27, 51, 53. - - Selaginites, 35. - - Senftenbergia, 40. - - Sequoia, 87, 96, 97. - - Sequoiites, 85, 89. - - Shale, 37. - - Sheppey, fruits of Isle of, 90. - - Sigillaria, 45. - - Silicified stems, 10. - - Sphenophyllum, 35, 61. - - Sphenopterideæ, 41. - - Sphenopteris, 34, 41, 42. - - Sporangia, 30, 56. - - Stangeria, 78. - - Steinhauera, 92. - - Sternbergia, 64, 97. - - Stigmaria, 41, 47, 48. - - Stonesfield slate, 82. - - Stratified rocks, 21. - - Structure of fossil plants, 12. - - - Table of formations, 21. - - Taxites, 86, 94, 95, 100. - - Taxodieæ, 89. - - Taxodites, 79, 80, 94, 95. - - Taxodium, 97. - - Terminalia, 92. - - Tertiary flora of Europe, 99. - - Tertiary period, characteristics of, 89, 100. - - Tertiary period, fossil plants of, 87. - - Tertiary vegetation, Brongniart's divisions of, 89. - - Thaumatopteris, 80. - - Thuites, 81, 85, 86. - - Thujopsis, 97. - - Tilia, 97. - - Trap rocks, 20. - - Tree-fern, 27. - - Trees of Miocene Arctic fossil flora, 97. - - Triassic fossils, 77. - - Trigonocarpum, 64, 72. - - Triplosporites, 50, 53. - - Tuff-beds, 94. - - Tulip tree, 97. - - - Ulmus, 92. - - Ulodendron, 57. - - Underclay, 37. - - Unger's list of genera of Eocene epoch, 90. - - Upper Chalk, 85. - - Upper Greensand, Coniferæ of, 85. - - - Vaccinium, 96. - - Vitis, 96. - - Volkmannia, 60. - - Voltzia, 78, 79. - - Vosgesian period, Brongniart's, 78. - - - Walchia, 71. - - Walnuts, 97. - - Wealden, Coniferæ of, 85. - - Wealden epoch, flora of, 84. - - Widdringtonites, 87. - - Williamsonia, 81. - - Williamsonieæ, 86. - - Willow, 97. - - Works, list of, treating of fossil botany, 105. - - - Yatesia, 86. - - Yew, 94. - - - Zamia, 78. - - Zamieæ, 86. - - Zamiostrobus, 78. - - Zamites, 78, 79, 84, 87. - - Zostera, 32. - - Zosterites, 87. - - -THE END. - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Miller's Footprints of the Creator, 192-199. Doubts have been -thrown on the antiquity of this specimen by those who support the -erroneous progressive development theory; but the presence, in the -same nodule, of a scale of a fish only found in the lower Old Red, -puts the matter beyond doubt. Dr. M'Nab on the Structure of a Lignite -(_Palæopitys_) from the Old Red Sandstone. (Trans. Bot. Soc. x. p. -312.) - -[2] Specimens of these fossil plants, as well as numerous others, -illustrating the fossil flora of Scotland, are to be seen in Mr. -Miller's collection, now in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. - -[3] Dawson, Jour. Geol. Soc. Lond. xv. Canadian Naturalist, v. -Acadian Geology, 2d edit. Fossil plants of the Devonian and upper -Silurian Formations of Canada, with 20 plates; in Report of -Geological Survey of Canada. - -[4] Maclaren, Geology of Fife and the Lothians, p. 116. - -[5] Our Coal-fields, by a Traveller under Ground. - -[6] See Hall's Coal-fields of Great Britain, 1861; Roscoe's Lectures -on Coal, Manchester, 1866-67; Hunt's Mineral Statistics of Great -Britain; Taylor's Statistics of Coal, 1855-56. - -[7] Heer, Flora fossilis Arctica; Fossile Flora der Bären Insel., -1871. - -[8] In giving names to fossil Ferns, the Greek word πτερίς, meaning -a Fern, is often used with a prefix indicating some character in the -form of the leaves, or stem, or fructification: such as, πέκος, a -comb; νεῦρον, a nerve; ὀδούς, a tooth; σφήν, a wedge; καυλός, a stalk -or stem; κύκλος, a circle; σχίζω, a split, etc. - -[9] The imbedding of plants in an erect state in strata is similar to -what was noticed at the present day by Gardner in Brazil, where stems -of recent Coco-nut Palms were seen covered with sand to the depth of -50 feet. - -[10] For woodcuts 44, 47, and 48, I am indebted to Dr. H. Bence -Jones, who has kindly placed them at my disposal. They were used to -illustrate Mr. Carruthers' remarks on the Cryptogamic forests of the -Coal period, published in the Journal of the Royal Institution of -Great Britain, April 16, 1869. Mr. Carruthers' observations are given -in the text. - -[11] Conjugate spirals result from _whorls_ of usually 2, 3, 5, 8, -etc., leaves arranged so as to give 2, 5, 8, etc., parallel spirals, -each with an angular divergence equal to ½, ⅓, ⅕, ⅛, etc., of one -of the fractions expressing the divergence in an arrangement of -_alternate_ leaves. - -[12] By inadvertence, the diameter is stated in my Class-book as 4-5 -inches. - -[13] See Remarks on the Structure of Calamites by W. C. Williamson, -Philos. Trans., 161, p. 477. - -[14] Williamson on the Structure and Affinities of Sternbergiæ, in -Manch. Lit. and Phil. Soc. Mem. ix. Dawson on Sternbergia, in Edin. -New Phil. Journ., new series, vii. 140. - -[15] See Notice of _Antholithes Pitcairniæ_, by C. W. Peach, in Bot. -Soc. Trans. Edin. vol. xi. - -[16] See Professor Duns on the association of Cardiocarpum with -Sphenopteris. Proc. R.S.E., April 1, 1872. - -[17] See Meyer's Palæontographica, Cassel, 1864. - -[18] See fuller description of Coniferæ and Cycadaceæ in Balfour's -Class Book of Botany, pp. 906-912. - -[19] Coal in the Kimmeridge clay is probably of animal origin. - -[20] Carruthers, Geol. Mag., vol. viii. December 1871. - -[21] Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist. 2d ser. ii. 380. - -[22] Journ. Geol. Soc. of London, vii. - -[23] Philosophical Transactions, R. Soc. Lond., vol. clii. p. 1039. - -[24] Heer, Flore Fossile des Regions Polaires, Zurich; also -Bibliotheque Univ. xxxix. p. 12; see also Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. i. -61, iv. 81. - -[25] Raulin, Sur les Transformations de la Flore de l'Europe centrale -pendant la période Tertiaire.--Ann. des Sc. Nat. 3d ser. Bot. x. 193. - - - - - * * * * * - - - PROFESSOR BALFOUR'S - BOTANY. - - - In one vol., royal 8vo, pp. 1117, with 1800 Illustrations, - price 21s., - - CLASS-BOOK OF BOTANY. - - _Being an Introduction to the Study of the Vegetable Kingdom._ - - By J. HUTTON BALFOUR, M.D., F.R.S., - - Professor of Medicine and Botany in the University of Edinburgh, - Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, and Queen's Botanist - for Scotland. - - (_May also be had in two Parts, price 21s._) - - - "In Dr. Balfour's 'Class-Book of Botany,' the author seems to have - exhausted every attainable source of information. Few, if any, works - on this subject contain such a mass of carefully collected and - condensed matter, and certainly none are more copiously or better - illustrated."--_Hooker's Journal of Botany._ - - "Professor Balfour's 'Class Book of Botany' is too well and - favourably known to botanists, whether teachers or learners, to - require any introduction to our readers. It is, as far as we know, - the only work which a lecturer can take in his hand as a safe - text-book for the whole of such a course as is required to prepare - students for our University or medical examinations. Every branch - of botany, structural and morphological, physiological, systematic, - geographical, and palæontological, is treated in so exhaustive a - manner, as to leave little to be desired. - - "The work is one indispensable to the class-room, and should be in - the hands of every teacher."--_Nature._ - - "The voluminous and profusely illustrated work of Dr. Balfour is too - well known to need any words of comment."--_Lancet._ - - - EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK. - - - - - JUKES' GEOLOGY. - - Just Published, in crown 8vo, cloth, price 12s. 6d., - - NEW EDITION OF BEETE JUKES' - - MANUAL OF GEOLOGY. - - _THIRD EDITION._ - - _Illustrated with numerous Woodcuts._ - - - Edited by ARCHIBALD GEIKIE, F.R.S., - - Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Edinburgh, - and Director of the Geological Survey of Scotland. - - - "A book which every earnest student of geology will welcome with - delight, and than which he can find no better guide to his studies." - --_Edinburgh Courant._ - - - - - OWEN'S PALÆONTOLOGY. - - Second Edition, 8vo, illustrated, price 7s. 6d. - - - PALÆONTOLOGY, - - OR - - _A SYSTEMATIC SUMMARY OF EXTINCT ANIMALS - AND THEIR GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS_. - - - By RICHARD OWEN, F.R.S., - - Superintendent of the Natural History Department in the - British Museum. - - - "The Prince of Palæontologists has here presented us with a most - comprehensive survey of the characters, succession, geological - position, and geographical distribution of the various forms of life - that have passed away."--_Medical Times and Gazette._ - - - EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - Superscripts are denoted by ^ eg Lith^{rs} Edin^r. - - Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fractions are shown - in the form a/b, eg 3/11 or 13/(34×2). - - Most entries in the Table of Contents had a corresponding section - heading in the text. Twelve entries had a corresponding page-header, - on odd-numbered pages, but no section heading in the text itself. - All the page-headers have of course been removed in the etext. To - improve readability these twelve section headings have been created - and inserted in the etext; they have been italicized to indicate they - have been added by the transcriber. - - The caption for an illustration is displayed as a sidenote in the - etext. It was shown as a page footnote in the original text. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the - text and consultation of external sources. - - Except for those changes noted below, misspelling in the text, and - inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, - planished; punctated; coal-field, coalfield; criddles. - - Pg 11, 'silicicified' replaced by 'silicified'. - Pg 39, '1-20th' replaced by '1/20th' for consistency. - Pg 42 Footnote [8], 'I split' replaced by 'a split'. - Pg 73 Illustration, 'Fg. 61' replaced by 'Fig. 61'. - Pg 79, 'aborescent' replaced by 'arborescent'. - Pg 102, 'to difficult' replaced by 'too difficult'. - Pg 105, '29. The Pliocene' replaced by '28. 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