^"i'**^)"'] rRO(JKEI)lN(iS OF Till': NATIONAJ. MlI.Si;iJM. 277 



This fossil is one, oI'IIki most coimiioii ones at (ilcii Itose. This is no 

 doubt iU'(*(niiil(Ml for by the vvvy diiiablo character of tlic ci»i(lcrinal 

 tissue and the thick chanicter of the leaves. They are very i)roiie to 

 peel oil" from liic stones and leaver only an imprint. The latei-al leaves 

 appi^ar now as a h'alhery matiM'ial, composed mainly ol" I he epidermis. 

 This has in tlie center a, sharply <le(ine(i iced, tliat looks like a pncicer 

 in the leal' substance, I'ather than a bundle of woody <issne toiininjj;' a 

 tiiu^ midneiv<'. The keel, however, is probably determined by the i)res- 

 enc(^ of such a midnerve iiiHnencin.n' tlu'. slirinlcinj;- of tlie leaf tissue in 

 drying'. No \ascular biiiidh', however, was distinctly seen, ajid in lliis 

 respect tJie h'aves diller from those of Se(|uoia, and r<'sembh' more ( hose 

 (»f Paiiiopiiylbim. It is dillicult to deteiniine from I he picsent aspcM-t 

 of tin; leaA'cs wimt was their character when li\iui;'. The_\', liowexcr, 

 give sti"onj4" indications I hat- they were much thickened towards their 

 bases, so as to have a pyramidal form, and tliey piobabl.v had a distinct 

 keel, so that their cross section would be ihond)ic in form. Thisayain 

 is a. character of raj;ioph.\llum and not, of Se(|uoia. l>nt in l'aj;iophyl- 

 liim, as a ride, the facial leaves are numerous and as ("(Uispicnous as t he 

 lateral ones, whih^ in this ])laiit t hey do not app<'ar at all on the idl imate 

 and youngest twigs, and on tiu' ohler ones they ai-e so few , small, and 

 closely o|)pressed that they are not \ isible unless carefully looked for. 

 It was only alter ]>rol(niged search tliat I found a speeimeii showing them. 

 It is true that allowaiic*' must be rjade for I he gieater liability of the 

 facial leaves t<> be <lesti'oyed in splitting the stone, but a nuMd»er of 

 si)ecimens showed the outei- sui'faces of the ultiuiate twigs well jne- 

 served, and in no case w(H'e fa(;ial lea\'es shown even in traces. 



I have with great hesitation placed this i)lant among the Secpioias, 

 to which it has, in genei'al faeies, a strong resend>lance. It shows a 

 blending of the featuics of that genus and of I'agiojihyllum, and is 

 probably a new genus with composite character", as is the case with the 

 peculiar ]'<((/i(>i>lii/lliiiii diihiuHi. The <lata at hand, howeser, d(» not 

 suflic(^ to li\ with Certainty its true character, an<l it maybe provision 

 ally regard<'d as a- Seiiuoia. The larg<', angle that the lateral l(^a\'(^s 

 make with the stem is totally unlike ragiophyllum, and UKUMMesembles 

 Secpioiai, although no pre\'i<Misly described s|»ecies of this genus known 

 to nui inis leaves standing so nearly at right angles with the st<'m. 

 ^<;(pioi(( (iiiihifiii ( is nea,r«;st to it, but its leav(^s have a <listinet vascular 

 nudner\(', are much thinner in texture, and more acute, while they go 

 olf mor(^ obliipiely. 



Abietites .s|)(iicHf 



I'l. XI, III, I'ijf. 1. 



This undetermined coim', is too fragmentary to ])ermit its character to 

 be nuide out, but enough is preserved to show that it- was considerably 

 larger than any of those of P.rachyphyllum and /'^((/ioplif/llum diihiuin. 

 The axis is thick and w^o >dy, tJie scales appiva-r to have been long and 

 wedge-shaped, thin at their lower ends and thicjkened at their upper ends. 



