64 JOURNAL OF THE [April, 



diatoms from the Tombigbee River and Sintabogue Creek in this 

 immediate neighborhood, but must have failed to get samples of 

 this marine tripoli, as it would have been a ' capital prize * 

 on account of its richness in organic fossil remains. 



*' One slide showing a thin section made from an opalized or 

 indurated form of the same tripoli stone referred to above. 



" I followed the borings of the artesian well in the hope of cor- 

 roborating the occurrence of marine diatomaceous clays, such as 

 occur on the Atlantic seaboard artesian-well area, but found the 

 various strata, penetrated to a depth of 850 feet, absolutely void 

 of diatomaceous forms. The last stratum of clay penetrated, 

 before reaching the water sands, contained plant debris and 

 fossil pollen grains alone. Bits of amber and pieces of pyritized 

 coniferous wood and lignite were freely washed up, and gene- 

 rally secured by the curious spectators at the completion of the 

 well. 



" I forward also several specimen packets of the crude ma- 

 terial from which most of the slides commented upon herein were 

 made." 



"January 2oth, 1892. 



*' I mail with this a package of raw material : 



" I. A piece of coal shale — burned — from Deer Creek, Walker 

 Co., Alabama coal. With an inch hand magnifier an abundance 

 of the fossil sporangial bodies may be seen in situ. It is from 

 this coal that I prepared the slide showing the spores in the fossil 

 sporangial capsules, on the slide labelled ' Fossil Sporangia.' 



" 2. A specimen from the recently discovered locality in Clarke 

 Co., Ala., near St. Stephens, of which I sent the Society four 

 prepared slides of a new tripoli of the marine sedimentary class 

 ■of rocks. The stratum belongs to the cretaceous rocks of Ala- 

 bama. 



" 3. A packet of the pyritous sand and micro-minerals, of 

 which I sent two slides previously." 



" February ist, 1892. 



'* I send the following specimens : 



'* I. From McGrew's Shoal, Tombigbee River, near St. 

 Stephens, Ala. The rock will interest the diatomist and petro- 

 logist, as it is a composite rock of marine sedimentary origin. It 



