270 Royal Society :— 



The author discusses the claim set up by M. Brougniart aucl 

 Professor Newberry for the admissiou of SigiUaria amongst the 

 Gymuospermous exogens, as well as Dr. Dawson's opinion that 

 some of them, at least, have decided G-ymuospermous affinities : 

 but still believes that this determination is not justified by the 

 facts. All the additional observations which he has made since 

 the publication of his second and third memoirs confirm his 

 original conclusion that no true distinction can be demonstrated 

 to exist between the Sijillarife. and the higher forms of Lepido- 

 dendra, in which the vascular cylinder assumes the exogenous 

 Diploxyloid organization. All the plants of which stems and 

 branches have been found displaying an organization correspond- 

 ing to that of living Gj^mnosperms are still comprehended within 

 Endlicher's genus Dadoxylon. On the other hand, recognizing 

 in Trigonocarjmm all the external features of a true seed, the 

 author cannot admit the probability of its having belonged to the 

 Lycopodiaceous Sigillariie. 



Gymnospermous Seeds. — Attention is next directed to the curious 

 seeds discovered in America, and published in Professor New- 

 berry's 'Geological Survey of Ohio.' These, however, merely 

 display external forms. Still more remarkable is the collection of 

 such seeds found by M. Grand-Eury at St. Etienne in Prance. 

 These exhibit their internal structure in a wonderful manner, as 

 is shown by M. Brongniart's brief memoir published in the 

 ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles.' M. Brougniart called atten- 

 tion, in that memoir, to a remarkable organization of the micro- 

 pylar extremity of many of these seeds, where a peculiar cavity 

 existed, bet\\een the micropyle and the apex of the nucleus, into 

 which the pollen-grains obtained entrance through the micropyle, 

 and were thus brought into contact with the nucleus. lu a more 

 recent memoir on the fertilization of the ovides of some species 

 of recent Cycads (Oemtozamice), M. Brougniart showed that a 

 mammillar prolongation of the apex of the nucleus projected into 

 the micropyle, which it filled ; but that during fertilization the 

 cells of this prolongation became disorganized, and a cavity was 

 produced into which the pollen-grains found their way, the apex 

 of the nucleus below this cavity becoming covered over by true 

 perispermic membrane. These structural peculiarities so far 

 accord with what he observed in M. Grand-Eury 's seeds, as to 

 lead him to surmise that the latter had Cycadeau rather than 

 Coniferous affinities. 



The author has found a number of remarkable seeds of a similar 

 type to those from St. Etienne in the Oldham nodules, and he 

 has been indebted to his frieuds Mr. Butterworth and Mr. Nield, 

 of Oldham, and to Captain Aitken, of Bacup, for a few others. 



The first of these is a very small, nearly spherical seed, which 

 the author names Lagenosioma ovoides, about '16 of an inch in 

 length and '1 in breadth. It has a solid testa, within which can 

 be recognized two distinct membranes — an inner or " perispermic " 

 one, which has enclosed the eiidospei'm, and an outer or " nucular " 

 one, M'hich has been in close contact with the perispermic one 



