Chapter IV: Part 4

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).

A. T. Hollick del. et lith. Mintern Bros. imp.

Fossil Ferns.]

A. T. Hollick del. et lith. Mintern Bros. imp.

Fossil Gymnospermous Fruits.]

M^cFarlane & Erskine, Lith^{rs} Edin^r

Coal and Coal-Plants.]

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.

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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. The Pliocene'.
Pg 111, 'Erom the Gault' replaced by 'From the Gault'.