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not able strictly to endorse Professor Huxuey’s statements. 
Undoubtedly the first three inches at the top of the seam is 
largely made up of spores, but below other vegetable constituents 
form an important part of the whole. It is also important to 
note that below the first three inches the spores are, for the 
most part, apparently of different species to the predominating 
variety above. 
The last English Coal to which I shall draw attention is 
that of the “Splint Coal” from Whitehill Colliery, near Edin- 
burgh. In the discussion of the paper which I read before the 
Geological Society of London, on the “Structure and Forma- 
tion of Coal,” one of the speakers said that sporangia were rare 
in Scottish Coal. Strange to say, Mr James Bennin, of the 
Scotch Geological Survey, a few days after the reading of the 
paper, sent me some specimens of the above Coal, and on 
examining them, I found spores in great numbers, though it is 
true no perfect sporangium was found. I therefore wrote to 
the owners of the Whitehill Colliery, who kindly responded 
by sending me very good typical samples of the seam. 
The following is a section sent me by Mr Joun Bueas, to 
which I have added my notes :— 
DESCRIPTION Ft. In. STRUCTURE 
Splint Coal. Dulllustre,with| 1 10 The dull layers a mass of 
a few bright layers ... ...  ... microspores, macrospores and 
fragments of spore cases. 
Rough Coal. Alternation of | 0 10 Hydrocarbon in the bright 
bright and dull lustrous layers layers ; a few spores in the dull, 
of about the same thickness. of different variety to those 
below and above. 
Splint Coal. Dulllustre,with| 9 4 The dull layers a mass of 
: microspores, macrospores and 
a few bright layers ... noes 1 
fragments of spore cases. 
The “Splint Coal,” as worked at Whitehill Colliery, has 
three distinct beds not, however, separated by partings, as in 
the case of the ‘‘Four Feet” and “Shallow” seam. Micro- 
scopic sections of the “ Lower Splint” bed show the dull lustrous 
