lxxii HISTORY OF THE COLLECTIOX. 



the Geological Society of London. The British Museum received 

 by bequest in 1897 a large number of additional examples. 



Odinheimer Collection. An early collection from the Newcastle 

 Series of New South Wales, chiefly from Port Stephens, made by 

 Dr. Odinheimer, and transferred to the British Museum from the 

 Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street. It was originally 

 brought to this country in 1858. 



The following collections are especially valuable : — 



Nicol Collection. William Nicol, of Edinburgh, famous as the 

 discoverer of the Nicol prism, and as the inventor of the method 

 of making thin, transparent microscopical sections of petrified 

 fossil woods, formed a collection of over 300 sections of plant 

 petrifactions cut by his method. These are of great value 

 historically, being the earliest collection of the kind. These 

 he sold to Mr. J. Bryson, from whom they were purchased by the 

 Museum in 1867. Some of these specimens were described by 

 Nicol 1 between 1831 and 1835. 



lioi/le Collection. Nearly all the types figured by Royle 2 in 

 his work on the Botany of the Himalayan Mountains, published 

 between 1833 and 1839, are preserved in the British Museum. 

 They form the earliest collection of fossil plants from the Lower 

 Gondwanas of India, with the exception of two species previously 

 described by Bronguiart. The collection contains four important 

 type -specimens. 3 



Strzelecki Collection and Morris Collection. In 1845, Count 

 Strzelecki 4 published a "Physical Description of New South 

 Wales and Van Diemens Land," in which Professor J. Morris 5 

 described the earliest collection of fossil plants of Pernio- Carboni- 

 ferous age from Australia. One of the species figured, Glossopteris 

 Browniana, Brong., as well as some of the Triassic types, are in 

 the British Museum collection, while others are preserved in the 

 Museum of the Geological Society of London. Count Strzelecki 

 sold his collection of 135 fossils to Professor Morris, from whom 

 the Museum purchased them in 1859 and 1883. 



1 Nicol (31), (33). (35 1 ), (35 2 ). : Royle (33). 3 Arber (01). 



4 Strzelecki (45). s Morris (45). 



