Spirifer cuspidatus and of certain allied Spiriferidse. 69 



of the same meaning. Indeed the question never once suggested 

 itself to my mind whether you might not have been mistaken in 

 regard to the shells you had examined ; for I assure you there 

 is no one living in whose opinion on such a question I have 

 more confidence than in yours^'*. 



The results I have now to communicate, whilst fully con- 

 firmatory of my original determination, also afford a complete 

 verification of the sagacious guess thus put forward by Mr. 

 Meek. 



Through the kindness of Mr.Worthen and Mr. Meek, I have 

 been furnished with the following materials for examination : — 



1. Chips of the type species of the genus Syringothijris, 

 established by Prof. Wiuchell on the basis of a very peculiar 

 feature of internal structure, which difi^erentiates it from ordi- 

 nary Spirifers, viz. the connexion of the vertical dental plates 

 (fig. 1 /, /) by a transverse lamina (fig. 2, tr) which gives off a pair 



Fis. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 1. Syringothyris typa, from a drawing by Prof. Winchell : /, /, dental 



plates ; A B, plane of section. 

 Fig. 2. Section of Syringothyris typa across the plane A b, after Winchell : 



I, I, dental plates ; tr, transverse lamina ; t, incomplete tube. 



of parallel lamellae that curve towards each other so as nearly to 

 meet on the median line, and thus form an incomplete tube (t) 



* I cannot but contrast the courteous tone in which Mr. Meek (an entire 

 stranger to me) has expressed his full reliance on my scientific accuracy in 

 this matter with the treatment I continue to receive from Prof. King, who, 

 in spite of my reiterated warnings against the fallacy of such superficial 

 observations, has again (in the last number of the Geological Magazine) 

 called in question the correctness of my statements, on no better evidence 

 than that aiForded by the examination of the surface of a specimen of 

 Spirifer cuspidatus with a hand magnifier ! 



