1882.J 



MICEOSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



215- 



fragments of well-preserved cellular 

 tissue, and with substances belonging 

 to neighbouring layers of the coal 

 bed. 



The general results of these new 

 examinations of the microscopical 

 structure of carbon coal are as fol- 

 low : — 



1. The coal of carbon is composed 

 of substances different in histological 

 structure and chemical constitution. 



2. The single constituents of coal 

 exhibit absolutely identical histologi- 

 cal and morphological qualities. 



3. The constituents are found either 

 in an unmixed state, forming small 

 beds (microbeds), or mixed up to- 

 gether. 



4. The histological elements, in the 

 case of immediate contact, still re- 

 main unaltered, and, in the zone of 

 contact, still distinguishable. 



5. In these cases peculiar trans- 

 mutations are observed in the struc- 

 ture of two different substances, being 

 in immediate contact {phenomena of 

 contact), transmutations extending 

 to histological structure and to mor- 

 phological qualities. 



6. The position and direction of 

 all corpuscles of longitudinal and flat 

 extension inclosed in the coal bed, 

 is invariably the same, viz., the prin- 

 cipal direction of the coal bed. 



7. The histological structure of the 

 constituents of coal exhibits a great 

 variety, bnt is found to be of most 

 constant character for one and the 

 same form. 



8. The juxtaposition of the histo- 

 logical elements is as follows: — 



a. Longitudinally ramified. 



b. Reticularly ramified. 



c. Symmetrically ramified. 



d. Undivided. 



e. Radial-spherical. 

 /. Cylindrical. 



g. Spherical. 



Purely reticular disposition is 

 found with one homogeneous and 

 opaque substance (grammitoid). 



9. The size and color exhibit in 

 all substances great uniformity. 



10. The variation in the structure 



and composition of the various coal 

 beds is found to increase largely in 

 microscopical detail. 



11. If we are unable to allow the 

 character of organic beings (not in- 

 dividuals) to a great many of these 

 bodies, composed of organic sub- 

 stance, the latter cannot be derived 

 simply as fragmentary particles fro^m 

 other vegetable beings, nor from the 

 products of the process of decompo- 

 sition of vegetable substances. 



12. No distinct rule is observed in 

 the succession of the various substan- 

 ces in the coal beds, but great varie- 

 ties of the qualities of the microbeds, 

 and we cannot observe any propor- 

 tional relation in the distribution of 

 the various substances within the 

 coal bed. 



EDITORIAL. 



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The Problem of Life. — No one 

 can foresee the ultimate result of the 

 simplest observation in science. As 

 the train of thought aroused by the fall 

 of an apple led to the conception of 



