289 
thick at four inches from the top, was a medium brightness. In 
describing my own investigations, I cannot do better than record 
them as written down at the time of observation. 
Within the first two inches from the top.—Mainly made up of 
macrospores and microspores, somewhat similar to those 
detected in the “Harders” bed of the “Shallow Seam” of 
_ Cannock Chase, (Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10). Well preserved scalariform 
tissue detected. 
Three inches from the top.—Spores less numerous. Some of 
the macrospores have caudate appendages. The mass chiefly 
made up of hydrocarbon and decomposed vegetable tissue. 
Four inches from the top.—Spores again numerous, but do 
not constitute the whole mass. The predominating macrospores 
(Figs. 12 and 13) show the caudate appendages, and are smaller 
than the predominating varieties above. 
Between four and five inches from the top.—Spores less 
numerous. Vegetable tissue appears, generally carbonized. 
Hydrocarbon contributes largely to the composition of the 
whole mass. 
Between siz and seven inches from the top.—Spores form but a 
small proportion of the whole coal; it is mainly made up of 
tissue and hydrocarbon. Carbonized scalariform tissue was met 
-with, the first I have noticed in that state of preservation. 
Eight inches from the top.—Spores scarce, though they were 
searched for by cutting horizontal and transverse sections. 
The coal was made up chiefly of tissue in various stages of 
decomposition. Some of it appeared to yield a resinous material. 
The structure here exhibited is the first I have noticed of the 
kind. 
Nine inches from the top.—A few spores noticed. The coal 
practically built up of tissue and hydrocarbon, the passage of 
the former into the latter clearly demonstrated. The resinous 
looking material, noticed above, again present but disappearing. 
Ten inches from the top.—Spores few in number; the coal 
made up of hydrocarbon and tissue. (Fig. 11). 
From a perusal of the evidence afforded by the examina- 
tion of the uppermost ten inches of the “Better Bed,” I am 
