33 YOSSIL ALCYONlA. 



and other fruits, arc there considered us fruits, which, hav- 

 ing fallen from their trees, have been buried in the earth, 

 where they have undergone the process of petrifaction. 

 These bodies, it appears, not only differ very much from 

 each other, in their forms, but also in their ttrueture: and 

 in Mons. Goettard's judgm'ent are divisible into two kinds; 

 those which possess somewhat of a globular form, and those 

 which are conical or fnnnel-fonued. 

 t£lm kind:J ° f former, he observes, may be divided into the body 



Or globular part, and the pedicle or elongated part. In the 

 centre of the superior part of the body is a circular opening, 

 which, in some of the specimens, is closed by extraneous 

 matter, derived from the matrix in which they lie. Thi< 

 opening, which is larger in its upper part than it is down- 

 wards, is continued almost to the pedicle, and in some spe- 

 cimens appears even to penetrate it. This is however very 

 difficultly ascertained, since the opening is in general 

 loaded with the extraneous matter. From the circum- 

 ference of this opening lines may be traced, which not only 

 pass over the whole of the spherical part, and inosculating, 

 are continued to the elongated part, where the)' form stria? 

 more or less plain ; but they are also found to penetrate 

 into the substance, both of the body and of the pedicle. 

 These bodies have, in general, but one of these openings, 

 but some have more ; and Mons. Guettard found one with 

 three distinct openings. In this specimen, the lines or 

 striae just mentioned were seen to collect around the cir- 

 cumference of each of the openings, and after inosculating, 

 to pass into the pedicle, in nearly the same manner as in 

 the others. 

 The pedicle A great disproportion, it appears, is frequently observ- 



vanes greaily. a ^j e between the size of the globular part of these bodies, 

 and their pedicle; sometimes the pedicle appearing very 

 large, and sometimes very small in proportion to the body : 

 this difference is however frequently the consequence of the 

 pedicle having been broken off; a circumftance which in- 

 deed so often oscurs, that a perfect specimen is very rarely 

 to be met with : numerous fragments of the pedicles being 

 dispersed about in the places where these bodies are found. 



The 



