i III. DIST. CHAR. Mode. 45 



found, differing from the recent subjects only in the 

 change induced by a partial decomposition or decay. 



ing apparent in them. These must be distinguished from similar 

 bodies, in which the bituminous fermentation has commenced, as 

 is the case in most of the vegetable remains in peat, &c., and 

 from these, in which that process is in a more advanced state, and 

 connected with carbonization, as in Bovey-coal and Suturbrand for 

 instance. 



Extensive, continued beds of unchanged vegetable matter, 

 as well as detached trees, are also common. Those on the 

 Lincolnshire coast, already noticed (note ft. p. 36.), consist of 

 roots, stems, and leaves of trees and shrubs, intermixed with the 

 remains of aquatic plants, &c. Dr. Correa de Serra, who has so 

 accurately described the appearances of these fossil vegetables, 

 observes, that the bark of the trees is generally as fresh as when 

 growing: and that their trunks, though mostly in a decomposed or 

 soft state, sometimes afford very sound pieces of timber, which 

 the people of the country, use for oeconomical purposes. The 

 Doctor himself separated from this mass of vegetable matter per- 

 fect leaves, which he ascertained to be those of the Ilex Aquifolium, 

 and others, which he supposed to belong to some species ofwillorv. 

 (Phil. Trans. 1799). The perfect preservation of such bodies 

 seems to indicate, that no chemical combination, distinct from 

 that existing in the recent leaves, had taken place, at least in the 

 individuals thus ascertained. Wood, we know, under a certain 

 degree of bituminization, or when carbonized, will retain the ar- 

 rangement of its fibres in almost any situation ; but leaves and 

 other tender or succulent bodies generally lose their organic con- 

 formation, with the commencement of those processes ; especially 

 when the surrounding matter is of the same nature, and undergoing 

 a similar change. This is evident in the formation of peat and 

 Bovey-coal, which seldom exhibit the foliage of the plants or trees, 

 from which they originate. 



