232 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Yol. ix. 



some of his conclusioas. These fine canals are best seen in well- 

 preserved serpentinous specimens free from chrysotile veins, and 

 etched with very dilute nitric acid. They have scarcely been 

 done justice to in any of the published figures either of Dr. Car- 

 penter or myself, and do not appear in those of Prof. Moebius. 



4. In reply to my objection that he has confounded the proper 

 wall oi Eozoon with veins of chrysotile, and that both are repre- 

 sented in his figures, he challenges me to point out which of the 

 latter are chrysotile and which proper wall. Of course doing so 

 will be of little importance to the argument, but I may indicate 

 his figs. 18, 43, 44 and 48 as in my opinion taken from portions 

 of proper wall, and fig. 45 seems to show the proper wall along 

 with chrysotile. I may farther now point out to him that even 

 Profs. King and Rowney in their recent paper admit that the 

 proper wall is not continuous chrysotile, but consists of " aciculae 

 separated by calcareous interpolations," though they try to ac- 

 count for this structure by complicated changes supposed to have 

 occurred in veins of chrysotile subsequently to their deposition. 



In truth, the chrysotile veins cross all the structures of Uozoou, 

 and those specimens are best preserved which have suffered least 

 from this subsequent infiltration of chrysotile into cracks formed 

 apparently by mechanical means. This has been amply shewn in 

 figures which I have already published, but J have now still more 

 characteristic specimens which I hope may yet be engraved. 



5. Prof. Moebius sneers at my statement that when the proper 

 wall of Eozoon is merely calcareous and not infiltrated, its struc- 

 tures are invisible, and that in many cases it has become opaque, 

 while in thick slices its structure is always indistinct ; but he 

 should know that this is the case with all fine organic tubuli or 

 pores in fossils penetrated with mineral matter, and eminently so 

 with fossil Nummulit.es, as the researches of Carpenter have long 

 ago demonstrated, and as any one possessing slices of these fossils 

 can see for himself. I may add that in some decalcified speci- 

 mens in my possession, where the proper wall has been wholly of 

 calcite, it is indicated merely by an empty hand intervening be- 

 tween the serpentine cast and the supplemental skeleton filled 

 with casts of canals. 



6. Lastly, he seems to think that no offence should be taken 

 at his insinuation that the figures printed by Dr. Carpenter and 

 myself are idealized or untruthful representations, and he repeats 

 the accusation in the following terms : " The individual peculi- 



