408 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Dec. 



upper end was of a softer and more perishable texture than the 

 lower. 



These fossils were first made known to science from specimens 

 collected by Mr. Richardson on the Island of Anticosti in 1856. 

 Occurring in a marine formation, I thought they might be the 

 remains of gigantic sea-weeds, and, in my report for 1857, placed 

 them under the title " Plants", but next after those that I con- 

 sidered of uncertain class. Since then they have remained in the 

 cases of the museum arranged among the fucoids. In 1858, I 

 took specimens with me to England, and had slices made for 

 microscopic investigation. They were submitted to Dr. Hooker, 

 who at first thought he could detect some traces of plant-structure 

 in them, but on a subsequent examination he came to the conclu- 

 sion that the evidence was not sufficient to show that 

 they belonged to the vegetable kingdom. Since that time 

 large additional collections have been made, and have been 

 carefully studied by Dr. J. W. Dawson and myself. Dr. Dawson 

 agrees with Dr. Hooker that no plant-structure can be detected, 

 and has long maintained that these fossils constitute a peculiar 

 genus of corals allied to Gystiphyllum* Prof. E. J. Chapman, of 

 Toronto, has also expressed the same opinion.f Prof. J. Hall, and 

 the late S. P. Woodward thought they might belong to the order 

 Rudistes. J. W. Salter has made the suggestion that, notwith- 

 standing their great size, they may be annelide tubes.J A. Hyatt, 

 jr. excludes them from the vegetable kingdom, and says, that they 

 constitute " a new and interesting order among the Mollusca, 

 closely allied to the Orthoceratites."§ 



When I first described these fossils I had no specimen that 

 exhibited either of the extremities ; the internal structure, with the 

 exception of the central tube and concentric layers, was also 

 unknown. I thought they might be marine plants, but was never 

 perfectly satisfied that they were. The large collections since 

 made have enabled us to ascertain nearly the whole structure. 



* This Journal, vol. 3, p. 85. 



f lt Their true place is probably among the Corals," Chapman, — Cana- 

 dian Journal, New Series, vol. 3, p. 331. 



% " Mr. Salter believes that the Beatricea, though thirty feet long, 

 may be a gigantic annelide tube, allied to Cornulites. Its cellular 

 structure leads him to this view. Amphitrite has a thick shelly tube 

 some feet in length.— Sir R. I. Murchison — ' Siluria,' ed. 3, p. 460. 



§ Am. Jour. Sci. [2] vol. 39, p. 261. 



