70 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



occurring at a depth of» fifty feet, while the pine was found at a depth 

 of thirty to thirty-five feet. While the occurrence of Larix americama 

 is a well-known feature of Pleistocene deposits, this is the first occasion 

 on which Pinus rigida has been recorded, and the fact that only one 

 other species — P. strobus — has hitherto been found very sparingly in 

 the Toronto beds of the Don period would seem to suggest that the 

 genus as a whole was very scarce in Pleistocene times, or that the two 

 localities so far recorded do not lie within the range of most abundant 

 distribution. 



On the first of April, Dr. F. H. Knowlton, of the U.S. G-eological 

 Survey, transmitted to me a number of specimens of wood — ^seven in 

 all — for the purpose of identification. They were presented in two 

 sets, the first of which was taken from the Eough and Eeady Mine, two 

 miles down the Klamath river at Orleans, Humboldt Co., California. 

 The deposits in which they occurred consisted of blue, sandy silt, at 

 least 265 feet above the river, and buried under at least 150 feet of 

 local slate debris. Of the three specimens embraced in this set, all 

 were determinable without difficulty, and could be referred to existing 

 species. TVo of them proved to be Juniperus calif ornica and one to 

 be Pseudotsuga macrocarpa. 



The second set, consisting of four specimens, was obtained from 

 the Ferris Mine, directly opposite Orleans. The specimens were de- 

 posited in a dark-blue, slaty muck at 150 feet above the Klamath river, 

 and buried under 50-60 feet of local debris. Owing to the state of 

 preservation, it was not possible to determine all the material satisfac- 

 torily, but one proved to be Juni perns calif ornica; one was probably a 

 Pseudotsuga, and therefore P. macrocarpa; one was either a Pseudotsuga, 

 Larix or Picea, presumably the first, while one was wholly undetermin- 

 able. 



An examination of the specimens revealed some peculiar conditions 

 of preservation, which have not been presented by any of the numerous 

 fragments of wood passing through my hands, except in one instance. 

 The specimens were but slightly silicified in all but one case, though 

 all yielded to the action of hot sodium carbonate, after which treatment 

 they were readily cut on the microtome. One specimen from the Ferris 

 Mine 'had been altered by decay to an extreme extent before silicification, 

 so much so that it was carbonized throughout and so friable that sec- 

 tions could not be cut. It was therefore undeterminable. With this 

 exception, all the specimens showed that, in addition to comparatively 

 slight alterations effected by the operation of fungi, the cell walls were 

 strongly swollen throughout, and to such an extent as to more or less 

 completely obliterate the central cavity, thus introducing a modification 



