On the Fossil Plants of the Coal-measures. 271 



throughout the greater part of the seed, but which splits up at its 

 apex into t\^-o portions, the inner one of which forms a remarkable 

 flask-shaped caAdty, which the author designates the lagenostome. 

 Its base has rested upon the apex of the perisperm, and its upper 

 extremity has been continuous with the micropyle. Within this 

 lagenostome is a little delicate parenchyma, which has shrunk up 

 towards the centre of the cavity, leaving a surrounding space in 

 which, in some examples, the author has found the objects 

 regarded by M. Brongniart as pollen-grains — an opinion in which 

 the author concurs. External to the lagenostome the second or 

 outer division of the nucular membrane forms a remarkable 

 " canopy," which hangs down from the micropyle, enclosing the 

 lagenostome within ten sharply defined and regular crescentic 

 folds, the concavities of which are directed outwards. The walls 

 of this lagenostome and of the " canopy " correspond with the 

 nucular membrane in consisting of flattened prosenchymatous 

 cells. The perispermic membrane, on the other hand, looks 

 structureless, save that it appears to have had imbedded in it an 

 innumerable multitude of miiDute crystals, lilve those observed by 

 Dr. Hooker on the spicular cells of Welwitsclda. 



A second species the author designates Lagenostoma pliysoides. 

 In this the apex of the endospermic sac contracts into a mammil- 

 liform prolongation, overlapped by the base of the lagenostome, 

 which overhangs it as a bladder half-full of water might be made 

 to overhang the neck of a soda-water bottle upon which it rested. 

 This species has other distinctive structural peculiarities. 



¥ov a second genus of new seeds the author proposes the name 

 of Conostoma. C. ohlonga from Oldham is about "18 of an inch in 

 length. Here, again, we have an endosperm enclosed in a peri- 

 spermic membrane, and this in turn is encased within a nucular 

 one, the \A'hole being invested by a dense testa. The lagenostome 

 is again formed out of divisions of the apical part of the nucular 

 membrane ; but it assumes a funnel-shape at its base, whilst its 

 upper extremity is continuous with the micropyle. A second 

 species, named C. ovalis, is from the Burntisland deposit, and is 

 more ovate than C. ohlonga. In it the lagenostome assumes a 

 remarkably funnel-shaped contour. The same deposit has fur- 

 nished a third species, C. intermedia. To another remarkable seed 

 from Oldham the author gives the name of Malacotesta ohlonga, 

 of which the maximum length, exclusive of its funiculus, has been 

 about '25. Its exotesta has been soft and parenchymatous, with 

 a prosenchymatous inner (nucular ?) membrane. The micropyle 

 has been remarkably wide with incurved margins at the exostome, 

 and enclosing a mass of delicate parenchyma through which a 

 •canal passed. 



The author has obtained a fine series both of longitudinal and 

 transverse sections of Trigonocarj^um oliva'forme, the seed long 

 ago made the subject of a valuable memoir by Dr. Hooker and 

 Mr. Binney. So far as the longitudinal sections are concerned, 

 the results obtained coi-respoud closely with those already arrived 

 at by these two authors, except that a modified form of lagenostome 



