180 THE PALMS OF THE ANCIENT WOULD. 



any depth with the deposits which form what is 

 termed shale, a considerable time would elapse, 

 and during this time the more evanescent species 

 woidd entirely perish, while those which were 

 better able to withstand the decomposing action 

 of water would be imbedded in the mud, and 

 remain as records of some of the then existing 

 races of plants. 



Proceeding upward from the coal strata, avc 

 find it stated, on the authority of count Stern- 

 berg, that palms existed during the period of 

 the new red sandstone {Permian and Trias.) 

 Tiieir remains seem to be entirely absent from 

 the oolite and lias, though the trunks and leaves 

 of Cijcadea (a nearl}^ allied tribe) are very plen- 

 tilul. In the Wealden strata of Tilgate forest, 

 Hastings, and the Isle of Wight, Dr. Mantell has 

 found the stems of a very curious plant, resemb- 

 ling the palm in structure, and associated with 

 the bones of reptiles and fresh w'ater shells. 



But it is not till we arrive at the tertiary 

 strata, that the remains of palms arc fuimd in 

 any considerable quantity. Here, however, 

 thoy are found in great numbers, especially in 

 the lower and earlier tertiary strata — the Eocene 

 period of Lyell. In the gypsum quarricjs of 

 Montmartre, near Paris, fine specimens of a fan 

 palm {Flabellaria) are met with, associated with 



