152 Mr Nicol on the Structure of 



by sidej in the same manner as they are placed in the vessels of 

 all the true pines^ Were this slice divided into two unequal 

 portions, one of them would have been styled a Pence and the 

 other a Pitus or Pinites ; and parts of it would have furnished 

 materials for the genus Anabathra of Withani, as they fre- 

 quently present between the partitions of the longitudinal vessels 

 distinct transverse lines, somewhat resemblmg the steps of a 

 ladder*. In the section perpendicular to a radius, for in fossils 

 it is not easy to produce a truly concentric one, the partitions of 

 the longitudinal vessels are often very indistinct, but some of 

 them present cylindrical or elliptical expansions, containing a 

 single row of many roundish openings. 



In another very fine specimen of fossil wood which I also 

 found in the vicinity of Whitby, the transverse section shows 

 well-defined annual layers, displaying the most perfect coniferous 

 reticulations. The longitudinal section parallel to a radius is in 

 some parts rather imperfect, but in many parts the partitions are 

 pretty well defined. Between these, both single and double 

 rows of very obscure discs are occasionally to be seen. The 

 greatest part of the section, however, is destitute of discs. The 

 discs in the single rows are apparently either circular or ellipti- 

 cal, but those in the double rows are decidedly polygonal, and 

 the discs in one row alternate with the discs in the other row. 

 In this circumstance of distinct annual layers, this fossil agrees 

 with the recent pines, and in the form and arrangement of the 

 discs with the Araucarias. 



Transverse sections of this fossil are figured in both the edi- 

 tions of Mr Witham's work, and they are the only ones acknow- 

 ledged to have been furnished by me, although, with a single 

 exception, I furnished the whole of the sections from the lias 

 formation figured in the first edition. Some sections of the fossil 

 in question have been figured on a larger scale in the 15tli plate 

 of the second edition, under the name of Pence Lindleiana. 

 The second figure is said to represent a portion of a longitudi- 

 nal section parallel to a medullary ray ; but it so httle resembles 

 the similar sections I have made, that I cannot but suspect it to 

 be a representation of something else, more especially as I gave 



• Vid. Witham on Fossil Vegetables. 



