THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



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^ ®t|^ Nature 5^I|0tngrapI|0r0 f 



Petrified Wood. 



Professor Edgar T. Wherry sends to 

 us a photograph of logs that were plough- 

 ed up in the fields of Joseph Rich, near 

 Woodbourne, Bucks County, Pennsyl- 

 vania. He has grouped these around the 

 base of a modern conifer that as he sug- 

 gests may perhaps be a descendant of the 

 petrified trees. Petrified wood, he says, 

 has been found in Connecticut. Profes- 

 sor Hitchcock relates an incident in which 

 a farmer found a silicified stump that 

 looked so natiu'al that he tried to split it. 



"The tree came from the hill and we 

 drew it down with a pair of oxen. It is 

 nearly three feet in height and two 

 across. The wood was plentiful on the 

 hill, but this is much the largest speci- 

 men. Another, in front of one of the 

 camps, came from a neighbor's (Mr. 

 Bradley's) land. It may be a little longer, 

 but is only half of a tree. 



"When Professor Hobbs was here, he 

 said it was the finest specimen that he 

 had seen in these parts. He mentioned 

 it in his book descriptive of his work 



PROFESSOR WHERRY'S PHOTOGRAPH OF 



The axe broke, whereupon he pounded 

 to pieces the magnificent specimen. 



At about the time when this letter was 

 received Miss Annie L . Scofield, of 

 Darien, Conn., visiting at ArcAdiA, told 

 us of petrified trees found in Connecticut 

 and referred to Miss Charlotte F. Cur- 

 tiss of South Britain, Conn. Miss Cur- 

 tiss has kindly contributed two speci- 

 mens to Arc.\diA. She reports that a 

 number of specimens have been found on 

 the hill back of her home. To Miss Sco- 

 field, Miss Curtiss writes dS tollows : 



PETRIFIED LOGS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



along geological lines. If I remember 

 correctly he intimates that so much silici- 

 fied wood is rarely found in Connecticut 

 as has been found on Horse Fence Hill. 

 \\'e have given away a large number of 

 small specimens.'' 



Upon writing to Professor William H. 

 Hobbs, Director of Geological Eabora- 

 tor_\-, L'niversity of Michigan, Ann Ar- 

 bor, [Michigan, we received the follow- 

 ing: 



"You will find a brief description ot 

 this and other specimens of similar char- 



