142 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [JUNE 6, 
(Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. xxxvii, 1881, p. 302) ‘from the 
Hamilton (Middle Erian) of Canandargua [Canandaigua], New 
York.’’ Dawson stated that ‘It was undoubtedly a woody stem, 
and not an alga. . . . It adds another to those mysterious woody 
stems of doubtful affinities which, in the Devonian or Erian of both 
sides of the Atlantic, represent the Taxinez and conifers of later 
formations.” : 
In a letter dated July 25, 1889, Professor J. M. Clarke, who 
found the type specimen, gave me the following note about this 
interesting fossil. ‘The Celluloxylon primevum Dn. was from 
the Hamilton shales in the town of Hopewell, Ontario County 
[ Hopewell is the first township east of Canandaigua township |. 
The original specimen is a fragment happily saved from destruction, 
and a mere remnant of what must have been a magnificent affair,— 
a trunk ten feet long. This unique specimen was ‘smashed up by a 
farmer to use as drain-stone and buried out of sight and knowledge.” 
Penhallow, Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, vol. vii, sec. iv, 1889, 
p. 26, stated that he considered this plant only a highly ‘altered 
condition of Nematophyton, and referred it provisionally to WN. evas- 
sum(Dn.) Pen. On p. 29, Celluloxylon primevum Dn. is given as 
a synonym of Nematophyton crassum (Dn.) Pen., without a query. 
Penhallow, Canadian Rec. Science, vol. iti, 1889, p. 431, says 
this species is ‘‘referred, on geographical grounds as well as of 
probable structure, to N. crassum.” 
The Nematoxylon erassum Dn., which is put by Professor Pen- 
hallow in the genus Nematophyton, was deseribed by Sir Wm. 
Dawson in Proc. Quart. Jour. Geol. Soe. London, vol. xix, 1863, 
p. 466, from Gaspé, Canada. In Dawson’s Foss. Plants Dev. and 
Up. Sil., 1871, pp. 20, 85, it is given as from the Middle Devonian 
of Gaspé. 
Carruthers, Month. Mic. Journal, vol. viii, 1872, pp. 161, 172, 
gave Nematoxylon crassum Dn. as a synonym of Prototaxites 
Logant Dn. which Carruthers called Nematophyeus Logani, and 
Penhallow refers the latter to the genus Nematophyton (Trans. 
Roy. Soc. Canada, vol. vi, sec. iv, 1889, pp. 36, 44; and @bid., vol. 
vii, sec. iv, 1889, p. 28). 
Part of the specimen of Celluloxylon found at the base of the Skun- 
nemunk Mountain has been given to Professor Penhallow, who has 
written a paper entitled ‘‘ Notes on Nematophyton erassum,”’ based 
princ ipally upon this material. After describing sections of the 
specimen, the Professor says: ‘‘ Comparing this specimen with the 
type of Nematophyton erassum, we find it agrees in all respects, 
except the presence of intercellular filaments in the latter and not 
in the former. But this difference may safely be attributed to the 
operation of greater alteration in one case than in the other, and it 
is, therefore, admissible to consider that my reference of Cellu- 
loxylon primevum to Nematophyton crassum is not only correct, 
but that it receives striking confirmation from this specimen.’” 
1 Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xv. 
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