100 THE MICROSCOPE. 



late distinguished Professor of Natural Science 

 in the New College, Edinburgh, the lamented 

 Dr. Fleming, justice is done to the originality 

 of Mr. Nicol's labours, and to the value of his 

 invention as an aid to palasontological research. 

 " In connection with organic remains/' Dr. 

 Fleming writes, " we briefly refer to the disco- 

 veries and labours of an individual who contri- 

 buted towards the elucidation of the intimate 

 structure of recent and fossil organisms to an 

 extent of which few seem to be aware. To the 

 late William Nicol, Esq., Inverleith, Edinburgh, 

 the students of fossil organisms are indebted for 

 the processes by which thin slices of petrifac- 

 tions can be prepared, so as to permit the appli-* 

 cation of the Microscope to the examination of 

 their intimate structure. It is to the processes 

 and the manipulations of this observer, that we 

 are indebted for our knowledge of the relation 

 of the fossil-trees of Craigleith and Granton 

 quarries to the firs, or rather to the Araucarias 

 of the present day. Indeed, without borrowing 

 from the resources of Mr. Nicol, the work of 

 Witham on Fossil Vegetables would have pos- 

 sessed little interest, the Fossil Flora would 



