142 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [jUNE 6, 



(Quart. Jonr.. Geol. See, vol. xxxvii, 1881, p. 302) "from the 

 Hamilton (Middle Brian) of Canandargua [Canandaigua], Xew 

 York." Dawson stated that " It was undoubtedly a woody stem, 

 and not an alga. ... It adds another to those mysterious woody 

 stems of doubtful affinities which, in the Devonian or Erian of both 

 sides of the Atlantic, represent the Taxineae and conifers of later 

 formations." 



In a letter dated July 25, 1889, Professor J. M. Clarke, who 

 found the type specimen, gave me the following note about this 

 interesting fossil. " The CelluJoxylon primsevum Dn. was from 

 the Hamilton shales in the town of Hopewell, Ontario County 

 [Hopewell is the first township east of Canandaigua township]. 

 The original specimen is a fragment happily saved from destruction, 

 and a mere remnant of what must have been a magnificent affair, — 

 a trunk ten feet long. This unitpie specimen was smashed up by a 

 farmer to use as drain-stone and buried out of sight and knowledge." 



Penhallow, Trans. Roy. Soc. -Canada, vol. vii, sec. iv, 1889, 

 p. 2ri, stated that he considered this plant only a highly altered 

 condition of Nematophyton, and referred it provisionally to N. eras- 

 sum (Dn.) Pen. On p. 29, CellvJoxylon primsevum Dn. is given as 

 a synonym of Nematophyton crassvm (Dn.) Pen., without a query. 



Penhallow, Canadian Rec. Science, vol. iii, 1889, p. 431, says 

 this species is "referred, on geographical grounds as well as of 

 probable structure, to N. crassiim.^' 



The NematoxyJon crassum Dn., which is put by Professor Pen- 

 hallow in the genus Nematophyton, was described by Sir Wm. 

 Dawson in Proc. Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. xix, 1863, 

 p. 460, from Gas]!^, Canada. In Dawson's Foss. Plants Dev. and 

 Up. Sil., 1871, py). 20, 85, it is given as from the Middle Devonian 

 of Gaspe. 



Carruthers, Month. Mic. Journal, vol. viii, 1872, pp. 161, 172, 

 gave Nematoxylon crassum Dn. as a synonym of Prototaxites 

 Logani Dn. which Carruthers called Nematophycus Logani, and 

 Penhallow refers the latter to the genus Nematophyton (Trans. 

 Rov. Soc. Canada, vol. vi, sec. iv, 1889, pp. 36, 44; and ibid., vol. 

 vii," .sec. iv, 1889, p. 28). 



Part of the specimen of Celluloxylon found at the base of the Skun- 

 nemunk Mountain has been given to Professor Penhallow, who has 

 written a paper entitled "Notes on Nematophyton crassum,^'' based 

 ])rinripally upon this material. After describing sections of the 

 specimen, the Professor says: " Comparing this specimen with the 

 type of Nematophyton crassum, we find it agrees in all re.'^pects, 

 exce})t the presence of intercellular filaments in the latter and not 

 in the former. But this difference may safely be attributed to the 

 operation of greater alteration in one case than in the other, and it 

 is, therefore, admissible to consider that my reference of Cellu- 

 loxylon primsevum to Nemato])hyton crassum is not only correct, 

 but that it receives striking confirmation from this specimen."' 



1 Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xv. 



