—— 
194 THE MEDALS OF CREATION. Cuap. VI. 
Teredo, or Teredina,; and remains of their testaceous tubes 
are often well preserved. The tortuous channels excavated 
in the wood by these borers, are lined or filled up with cal- 
careous spar, indurated clay, or other mineral matter, of* 
various shades of grey, blue, yellow, &c. ; and the polished slabs 
of this fossil wood are beautifully diversified by the sections 
of the sparry tubes, crossed at right angles by the ligneous 
structure; asin the specimen jig. ii Laign. 65, from hes Canal © 
in the Regent’s Park.* 
In the toil jig. 2. Lign. 65, from the Isle of Sheppey, 
the tubes of the teredinz are seen in relief, in consequence 
of the surface of the block of wood having decayed and been 
removed. 
Fossit LintackE#.—The family of endogens, termed Lilia-_ 
cece, comprises many beautiful plants ; those with annual — 
stems, as the Lily, Hyacinth, Tulip, &c. are well known for — 
the variety and splendour of their blossoms ; some of the — 
arborescent forms, as the Tulip-tree, attain a la ge size, but — 
the flowers of this division are relatively small. In tertiary — 
strata, the stems, leaves, fruits, and even the imprints of j 
flowers, have been discovered, of plants related to Sagittaria © 
(Arrow-head), Smilax (Bind-weed), Convallaria (Lily of the — 
valley), &e. 
The Draceena (Dragon-blood tree), a tall, slender, elegant i 
tree with amplexicaul leaves (common in our hot-houses), — 
belongs to this family ; and certain stems found with Cla-— 
thrariz, and bones of the Iguanodon, in the Kentish-rag at_ 
Maidstone (ante, p. 173), so closely resemble the trunk of 
this plant, that they have been named by Mr. Konig,t 
Dracena Benstedi ; the specimens are in the British Museum. — 
Until the internal structure of these fossils has been ex- 
amined, the correctness of this identification is, however, 
* Slabs of this kind are generally kept by the lapidaries at Bognor, 
Worthing, &c. and sold at 2s. or 2s. 6d. each. 7 
+ Petrifactions, p. 49. ‘ 
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