40 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
The characteristic plants are the conifere, related to Cycas and Zamia. The ferns have dimin- 
ished in numbers, and Calamites and kindred genera have nearly disappeared. Such a Flora is 
found at the Cape of Good Hope and near the coast of New Holland. 
The third epoch is distinguished by the prevalence of Dicotyledonous plants of existing genera. 
A few Cycadew and ferns occur, together with the remains of palms; the whole group, indicating 
a climate a little warmer than that of the Southern United States, where the palms are represented 
by the palmetto and sabal, which are found growing with the ash, elm, willow and cypress. Such 
is the Flora of the Tertiary period. 
The following table* shows the number and distribution of fossil plants, according to the recent 
researches of M. Goppert. In 1836 only 527 fossil plants were known; at present the number 
amounts to 1792, which shows the rapid progress made in this department of Paleontology. 
Of living plants there are known to Botanists 80,000 species; of these a large number are Fungi 
and Fucoids, which, on account of their destructible nature, could rarely occur in the fossil state— 
so that the proportion of fossil to recent plants is quite large. 
Middle and older Paleozoic rocks — - - - - - 52 
Carboniferous - = = : = 2 f 3 819 
Permian - - - : 2 = 2 4 Segtee 58 
Triassic - - - - 2 = s = : = 86 ‘ 
Oolite - - - - E E S E - - 234 
Wealden : - - z : £ : 4 : 16 
Cretaceous - - - - = = e t 62 
Tertiary - - - - : = 4 E 2 ABA 
Unknown - - - - - E < ss F : 11 
1792 
CHAPTER IV. 
Fossilliferous Rocks.—Classification Paleozoic Series.—Lower Silurian — Upper Silurian.— 
Old Red.— Carboniferous System.— Coal Measures.—Secondary Period.—New Red.—Lias.— 
Oolite.— Wealden Formation.—Cretaceous System.— Tertiary Period.—Hocene.—Miocene.— 
Pliocene.—Post Pliocene.—Succession of Organic Remains.—Mosaic Account of Creation. 
We have next to consider an exceedingly interesting class of rocks, comprehending a large 
series of formations, composed of sedimentary deposits, called fossilliferous from the fact that they 
contain organic remains—an evidence that they were formed since the appearance of life on the 
*Brit. Ass. Reports. 
