16i 



DAVENPOKT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCJCS. 



Within a foot of the layer in which 

 the Fucoid was found, the remains of a 

 lish were discovered. These are pre- 

 served in the same case with the Fu- 

 coid. The fine sand that had been dis- 

 seminated throug-hout the clay, all at 

 once became an indurated sand rock, 

 varying from two to three inches thick, 

 extending over the whole space we had 

 uncovered, its under surface complete- 

 ly covered by the Fucoid. Beneath 

 this was a layer of soft blue clay, into 

 which the plant had no doubt fallen, 

 and which, having never hardened, had 

 protected its entire surface. It is most 

 probable this under clay formed the 

 original surface on which the plant grew 

 and into which having fallen, it was 

 preserved in a form almost as fault- 

 less as it had when a thing of life. 



As an extension of the same sand 

 rock ancj fossil, Mr. Elmer procured 

 a specimen as large as the one -figured, 

 having been joined to and forming part 

 of it, both together constituting but a 

 part of the entire plant. Bailey Dav- 

 enport Esq., the owner of the quarry, 

 presented to the College still another 

 fragment, equalling in size and beauty 

 that in the possession of the Academy. 

 In determining the source of this bed 

 of clay, and tracing the manner of its 

 transportation to its present locality, 7 

 have prepared the following diagram, 

 representing a somewhat generalized 

 section on a curved lint- across the val- 

 ley and river, from bluff to bluff". 



At a is shown the place of the non- 

 fossiliferous rock common to each local- 

 ity. It is with this we are most famil- 



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