TAXUS, ASIMINA AND ULMUS. 323 



can be referred, as they differ from it in a somewhat marked manner ; but 

 they do approach the latter species, to which I shall therefore refer them. 

 Taxus baccata is now found extending from Newfoundland, Anticosti, and 

 Nova Scotia, Avhere it is abundant, through New Brunswick, Quebec, and 

 Ontario. On the shore of Lake Huron it often forms impenetrable thickets. 

 Passing to the west it still continues abundant north of Lake Superior, and 

 at least to Lake Winnipeg, accordiug to Macoun.* 



ASIMINA TRILOBA, DUNAL. 



The specimen of this fossil is from the Pleistocene of the Don river, Toronto, 

 having been collected in 1887, by Mr. J. Townsend, from a cut at Jail hill, 

 at a depth of sixty-six feet below the surface, and from below the Erie clay of 

 that locality. It is about six inches long by two wide, and evidently was 

 derived from a tree of small diameter, as indicated by the curvature of the 

 growth rings. In its general aspect it bears a very strong resemblance to 

 the wood of our modern Asimina triloba, with which it is also closely com- 

 parable in its minute structure. It presents certain differences in detail — 

 e. g., the development of the thyloses is much more strongly marked, the 

 wood cells are of smaller diameter, and there are also certain differences in 

 the markings of the vessels. Alteration under the conditions established 

 by its long burial may account for some of these, and perhaps none of them 

 are sufficient to mark a distinct species. I would therefore assign it for the 

 present to our modern species of A. triloba. 



The material was well preserved, and all the details of structure could 

 be distinguished without difficulty. By boiling in potash, sections were as 

 readily cut as if taken from fresh material. 



At present Asimina triloba, the only species found within Canadian limits, 

 occurs in Ontario, at Queenstown heights. It is very abundant at Point 

 Pelee and in the townships bordering on Lake Erie between that point and 

 Aniherstburg. Doubtless it is not rare along Lake Erie, though not yet 

 reported (Macoun). 



ULMUS RACEMOSA, THOMAS. 



This fossil is represented by two specimens, numbered 2 and 3. 



No. 2 is twelve by six inches, and evidently derived from a somewhat 

 huge tree. It was obtained in 1887 from a cutting on the Don river, from 

 beneath the Erie clay, at a depth of sixty-six feet from the surface, and 

 associated with the previously described species. 



The material is fairly well preserved, though showing the effects of decay 

 in the exfoliation of the growth layers; while under the microscope the dis- 



* The occurrence of Taxus baccata in the Pleistocene deposits of Manitoba has been noticed by 

 Dr. G.- M. Dawson in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, vol. I V, part I V, 1886, p. :i-'. 



