April '/ik,igi4'] Proceedings. xxv 



Ordinary Meeting, April 7th, 1914. 



The President, Mr. Francis Nicholson, F.Z.S., succeeded by 

 Professor F. E. Weiss, D.Sc, F.L.S., in the Chair. 



A vote of thanks was accorded the donors of the books upon 

 the table. 



A paper, entitled "A Preliminary Note on the 

 Structure of Coal," by Mr, W. C. Grummitj and Dr. G. 

 HiCKLiNG was read by the latter. 



A preliminary account was given of an investigation which 

 promises to throw considerable light on the nature and history 

 of coal. It was suggested that the essential constituent of coal 

 is a homogeneous substance, red or orange in colour when thin 

 enough to be transparent. This material under the microscope 

 frequently shows evidence of " flow," and was doubtless a liquid 

 vegetable decomposition product. In its purest form this 

 material constitutes the " bright " layers of coal ; with strongly 

 developed "cleat" or cleavage. Vegetable structures are 

 preserved in coalin two forms : (i) in a " carbonised" condition, as 

 is found pure in " mother of coal " — this material is quite opaque 

 even when much less than i^j thick : (2) impregnated with 

 the transparent material described above ; spores are the most 

 readily distinguishable parts preserved in this manner, their 

 walls being greatly swollen by impregnation ; the "bright" bands 

 of coal also can often be seen to consist of wood or cortex im- 

 pregnated with similar material, but in this case the impregnated 

 cell-walls may so closely resemble the material filling their 

 cavities as to be distinguishable only with ditificulty, and it is 

 probable that vegetable structures really exist in parts where they 

 cannot on this account be distinguished at all. It is noteworthy 

 that the material which has impregnated the spores is always 

 much lighter in colour than that which has penetrated other 

 vegetable tissues. It has been shown that the ash from the 

 various coals consists largely of fibrous material which is clearly 



