no. 1821. REVISION OF POTOMAC PLANTS— BERRY. 317 



The arrangement of the scales is a close spiral, and in all of the cones 

 collected or seen, numbering several score, none were found expanded, 

 all having the scales closely appressed. This may indicate fossiliza- 

 tion before maturity, since also numbers of the cones retain their 

 seeds, which is remarkable if the cones were shed in a ripe state. The 

 seeds seem to be mature, however, and it is probable that the cones 

 in this species had reached nearly or quite their full size when they 

 were blown into some Lower Cretaceous stream and carried out and 

 buried in the Patapsco estuaries. Each cone scale subtends two 

 seeds which are typically those of Pinus. The seeds are elliptical, 

 3-5 mm. long with straight wings 5-15 mm. high and not over 7 mm. 

 wide, sides rather straight though somewhat curved on the outside, 

 obtusely rounded apically. 



The single seed from Federal Hill represents the maximum of size as 

 given above and is also rather more pointed than the specimens from 

 the other localities. It was doubtfully described by Fontaine in his 

 first monograph. More recently Professor Ward discovered seeds of 

 Pinus at Mount Vernon, Virginia, and at Fort Foote, Maryland. The 

 former were described as Pinus vernonensis, which now becomes the 

 name of all the Pinus like remains from the Patapsco formation. 

 The latter specimens were described as a distinct species, Pinus 

 schista, because the wings are somewhat split. As the hitter are 

 identical with the more complete remains from the other bank of the 

 Potomac, and as the different specimens are split to a varying degree 

 and one specimen is not split at all, it is quite obvious that the splitting 

 is due entirely to trituration before fossilization. 



Recently the writer discovered abundant lignitized cones associated 

 with these seeds near Widewater, Virginia, and these cones were found 

 in a number of instances to still contain some of their seeds which 

 proved to be identical in every respect with the seeds previously 

 described from the Patapsco formation. Having become familiar 

 with the cones which bore the pine seeds it was found that the single 

 cone described by Fontaine 1 from Cecil County, Maryland, as identi- 

 cal with Araucarites virginieus was in reality a pine cone identical 

 in every respect with the cones from near Widewater, Virginia. 



The seeds of Pinus vernonensis may be compared with those figured 

 by Seward 2 from the Wealden of Bernissart, Belgium as Pinites cf. 

 Sohnsi. In the U. S. National Museum collections a number of speci- 

 mens of Widdringtonites broolcense are labeled Pinus vernonensis in 

 Professor Fontaine's handwriting, but there is no record in print of 

 supposed foliage of this species, although it is possible that some of 

 the foliage specimens referred to Abietites in the present paper may 

 have hacl such a relationship. 



i Iu Ward, Monogr. U. S. Geol. Surv., vol. 48, 1906, p. 572, pi. 119, fig. 8. 



2 Seward, La Flora Wealden do Bernissart, Mem. Musce roy. d'hist. nat. de Belgique, Annee 1900, 

 p. 28, pi. 4 fig. 77. 



