l] ENGLISH PALAEOBOTANISTS. 9 



lays special stress on the importance of studying the micro- 

 scopical structure of fossil plants. 



Without pausing to enumerate the contributions of such 

 well-known continental authors as Goppert, Cotta, Schimper, 

 Stenzel, Schenk and a host of others, we may glance for a 

 moment at the services rendered by English investigators to 

 the study of palaeobotanical histology. Unfortunately we 

 cannot always extend our examination of fossil plants beyond 

 the characters of external form and surface markings; but in 

 a few districts there are preserved remnants of ancient floras in 

 which fragments of stems, roots, leaves and other structures 

 have been petrified in such a manner as to retain with wonder- 

 ful completeness the minute structure of their internal tissues. 

 During the deposition of the coal seams in parts of Yorkshire 

 and Lancashire the conditions of fossilisation were exception- 

 ally favourable, and thus English investigators have been 

 fortunately placed for conducting researches on the minute 

 anatomy of the Coal-Measure plants. The late Mr Binney of 

 Manchester did excellent service by his work on the internal 

 structure of some of the trees of the Coal Period forests. In 

 his introductory remarks to a monograph on the genus 

 Calamites, after speaking of the desirability of describing 

 our English specimens, he goes on to say, " When this is 

 done, we are likely to possess a literature on our Carboniferous 

 fossils worthy of the first coal-producing country \" The con- 

 tinuation and extension of Binney 's work in the hands of 

 Carruthers, Williamson, and others, whose botanical qualifica- 

 tions enabled them to produce work of greater scientific value, 

 has gone far towards the fulfilment of Binney's prophecy. 



In dealing with the structure of Palaeozoic plants, we shall 

 be under constant obligation to the splendid series of memoirs 

 from the pen of Prof. Williamson V As the writer of a 

 sympathetic obituary notice has well said: "In his fifty-fifth 

 year he began the great series of memoirs which mark the 

 culminating point of his scientific activity, and which will 

 assure to him, for all time, in conjunction with Brongniart, the 



^ Binney (68), Introductory remarks. ' Williamson (71), etc. 



