62 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



specimen was beautifully preserved, and had all the external features 

 of a fragment of wood, from a recent tree, but which had been lying 

 iu water for some time. The grain of the wood could be distinguished, 

 while the radial fractures not only displayed the medullary rays most 

 clearly, but even the bordered pits could be seen as glistening elevatiojis 

 from the surfaces of the tracheids. From its lightness and porosity, 

 it was assumed to be a specimen of Sequoia, a conclusion which upon 

 subsequent examination, was found, to be incorrect. 



The specimen was received from Mr, C. M. Thorpe, of Bozeonan, 

 Montana, having been forwarded by him at the suggestion of Mr. Y. K. 

 Chestnut, who was engaged in the investigation of poisonous plants in 

 that region. Mr. Thorpe's statement as to the location of the speed- 

 men is as follows: — 



" This tree was found in excavating for a dam at Mystic lake 

 near this city (13ozeman), and it was about eight feet down in the old 

 lake bed deposit. This lake bed was deposited prior to deposits which 

 have since been made by a glacier, I should judge, as portions of this 

 old lake bed near where the tree was found had been covered with a 

 glacial drift. The tree must be very old, as the lake bed has the 

 appearance of having been deposited very slowly. The timber growing 

 in that section of country at present is a scmbby growth of pine; the 

 trees are abaut twelve inches and less in diameter. This tree is of a 

 very different variety from any tiling which grows in that section of the 

 country at present." 



Upon examination, the material was found to be absolutely free 

 from infiltrated mineral matter, presenting, in fact, all the features 

 of a recent wood which had been water-logged and subsequently dried. 

 It softened readily in boiling water, showing the complete absence of 

 silicification and sections were subsequently cut with the greatest of 

 ease. The internal structure was then found to be most perfectly 

 preserved in all its details, and it abundantly confirmed the impressions 

 gained from an external inspection. No evidences of decay were pre- 

 sent — indeed, the tissue was remarkably free from fungus mycelia, 

 showing that the tree must have been covered up and hermetically 

 sealed in its matrix very shortly, if not immediately, after falling. Were 

 it not for the statement of Mr. Thorpe, that " the lake bed has the 

 appearance of having been deposited very slowly," I should infer, from 

 the absence of decay, that the tree must have been carried down by an 

 avalanche and immediately buried by the debris. 



There was not the slightest difficulty in identifying the specimen 

 with the existing Douglas fir — Pseudotsuga douglasii — approaching 

 what is familiarly knoavn as the "Yellow Fir" of fine grain. This 



