L INTRODUCTION. 



The clays of New Jersey constitute the basis of a most im- 

 portant element in the State's mineral wealth and have long fur- 

 nished the raw material for a variety of industries, and given 

 employment to a large force of labor, both skilled and unskilled. 

 The most conspicuous clay deposits in the State are those known 

 as the Raritan, or Amboy, clays. Very early they attracted the 

 attention of the State Geological Survey, and we find consider- 

 able space devoted to them in the Geology of New Jersey, pub- 

 lished in 1868, in the Clay Report of 1878, and in the various 

 later reports. 



The only comprehensive treatment of the flora of the Raritan 

 formation is that of Prof. Newberry^ published posthumously 

 in 1896, his active work on it having been stopped by failing 

 health in the fall of 1890. In the interval of twenty-one years 

 which has elapsed, both geology and paleobotany have made 

 prodigious progress in this country, and it is no discredit to the 

 pioneer workers that revision becomes a necessity. One of the 

 imperfections of Prof. Newberry's work, along with that of his 

 colaborers in the field of paleontology, was their neglect in 

 stating the precise localities and horizons from which their 

 specimens were collected. It has been possible to supply some 

 of these deficiencies in frequent visits to the various pits, others 

 remain as Prof. Newberry left them. 



Considerable material collected by the U. S. Geological Sur- 

 vey has furnished a number of additions to the flora, for which 

 acknowledgement is gratefully made at this point. All of Prof. 

 Newberry's types are in the museum of the New York Botanical 

 Garden, where they are well arranged and easily accessible. The 

 author's thanks are due Dr. Hollick, the curator of the paleo- 



' Newberry, The Flora of the Amboy Clays, Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, Vol. 

 XXVI (1895), 1896. 



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