108 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



which outcropped around the rim of the knoll. I also found many 

 fragments of petrified wood below this level which had evidently 

 weathered out of this same stratum. A close search along this out- 

 crop revealed two other fair-sized stumps within fifty yards of the 

 former one ; their tops were just level with the surface of the ground. 



Permission having been obtained from Mr. Brenner to remove 

 these, as well as any others which I might find, I again visited this 

 place in November of the same year, with my geology class. A further 

 search brought to light two more fine specimens of stumps. These, 

 with the three formerly discovered, were sufl&cient to constitute a 

 heavy load for transportation to Holton, and as our time was limited 

 we were compelled to give up further search. 



The work of excavating was comparatively easy, as the limestone 

 had been very much fracturedt Below this was about eight inches of 

 a soft, shaly limestone mingled with clay (figure 9, c). This rested 

 on ten inches of dark brown soil and clay (figure 9, d), in which the 

 roots of the stumps were embedded as they grew. A careful search 

 in this soil failed to reveal any of the leaves or fruit of these trees. 



The stumps were, with one exception, found as they grew, their 

 larger roots still unbroken. All the wood at this place appears to 

 have partly decayed before petrifaction took place, no remnant of 

 bark remaining. This would indicate that the trees were partially or 

 wholly submerged, as logs and stumps of the present time decay in 

 much the same manner when exposed in the water. 



I am indebted to Mr. E. H. Sellards for the identification of these 

 trees. He has found them to belong to the ancient group of plants, 

 linking the conifers with the cycads, known as Cordaites. The strata 

 belong to the Upper Carboniferous, Wabaunsee formation. 



The stumps found vary in diameter from eight inches to two feet, 

 and, as our examination of this locality was only superficial and very 

 hasty, I feel sure that extended search would reveal many others, pos- 

 sibly some larger, though two feet is the maximum size, so far as I 

 know, yet reported for Cordaites. 



The present extent of these trees, which I have made bold to desig- 

 nate as a fossil forest, is limited to the top of this single knoll, an area 

 of perhaps ten acres. However, it must in times past have been very 

 much more extensive, as evidence of their existence in the form of 

 loose fragments and occasionally stumps and logs have been found in 

 both Jackson and Pottawatomie counties, even extending southward 

 across the Kaw to seven miles west of Alma, in Wabaunsee county. 



The most important points in this discovery may be briefly noted 

 in the following : 



