CHAPTER III 

 YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY 



A LTHOUGH to most people the study of 

 jf~\_ fossil botany may appear to be an un- 

 inviting pursuit, there can be no question as to 

 the importance of the science. It is only in 

 this way that we are able to appreciate the 

 changes which have led up to the existing types 

 of plants. Now the question of the past history 

 of the Vascular Cryptogams is of very special 

 interest in more ways than one. It is, of course, 

 most fascinating to be able to discover what 

 kinds of Ferns flourished, for instance, at the 

 period when the coal deposits were being 

 formed. But, even in a cursory description, it 

 will be quite impossible to allow the matter to 

 rest there. The story of the past, in the case 

 of the Vascular Cryptogams, is closely inter- 

 woven with some of the most absorbing phases 

 in the evolution of the Flowering Plants which 

 are such a dominant feature on the earth at the 

 present time. 



Quite recently we have had to alter our views 

 materially on the matter of the past history of 

 the Ferns. Within the last few years it has been 

 proved that a huge number of the fossil remains, 

 belonging to the Palaeozoic formation at any 

 rate, are not Ferns at all. They belonged to a 

 very distinct race of plants altogether, known 

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