THE TOIIBANEHILL MINERAL, ETC. 193 



actual structure of the mineral at that place.* In the same 

 manner Dr. Redfern, when asked, f " What do you think 

 these yellow spots indicate ?" replied, " They indicate the 

 existence of vegetable cells." The reasons he gave for so 

 considering them were, " That they can be perfectly isolated. 

 — they project upon the edges of all sections of the mineral — 

 they are rounded — they are as uniform in size as the cells of 

 other vegetable structures — the general appearance of the sec- 

 tion is that of a piece of vegetable cellular tissue — the yellow 

 spots do not act upon polarized light, or act upon it very 

 feebly." 



Dr. Greville, also, speaking of the same bodies, said,| that 

 " he had no more doubt of their being vegetable cells than he 

 had of his own existence ;" that " in one specimen it was so 

 unequivocally marked, and so regular, that it might be com- 

 pared to that of a recent plant ;" and that " no person accus- 

 tomed to botanical sections would hesitate in believing it to 

 be cellular tissue." 



From these quotations it must be evident that both parties 

 saw the same things, but that while on one side it was con- 

 tended that they were not vegetable cells, but bituminoid 

 masses imbedded in clay, on the other it was strongly asseve- 

 rated, in the language I have quoted, that because they were 

 vegetable cells, therefore the Torbanehill mineral was a fossil 

 plant. But in consequence of the reason of this difference in 

 opinion not having been distinctly brought out in examination, 

 the greatest confusion seemed to prevail in the minds of judge, 

 counsel, and jury ; and it was thought that the witnesses 

 for the defender being skilful botanists, were enabled to see 

 what the witnesses for the puisuers did not see. This result, 

 as well as the confusion occasioned by the examination of the 

 witnesses, is evident from the observations made by the learned 

 Judge to the jury, from which I shall take the liberty of 

 quoting : — 



" One general remark niay be made on the microscopic 

 testimony, and it is, that there are those who see a thing, and 

 also those who do not see it — those who do see it, cannot see 

 it unless it is there, and those who cannot see it do not see it 

 at all. But very skilful persons looking for a thing and not 

 seeing it, creates a strong piesumption that it is not there. 

 But when other persons do find it, it goes far to displace the 

 notion that it is not there. But there is another observation 

 on the microscopic evidence that occurred to me. I do not 

 know whether I am under any misapprehension, but I think 



* Mr. Lvell's Eeport, ]ip. 168-9. f Ibid., p. 170. 



X Ibid., pp. 171-2. 



VOL. 111. O 



