286 Mr. J. S. Patrick on the Fossil Vegetables 



gniart and other authors occur profusely iu our coal-fields as well 

 as in those of the North of England. They are found in a state 

 of compression^ which renders it difficult to determine their species, 

 or to form an idea of their probable affinity to plants of the pre- 

 sent day. Judging- from the remarkable compression of even 

 the largest specimens, it is likely that the Calamite had a hollow 

 jointed stem, with transverse phragmata, resembling that of the 

 bamboo cane, and, at least in some species, with verticillate 

 branches, which again have verticillate leaves. Brongniart thinks 

 that the Calamites must have had a close affinity to the recent 

 genus Equisetum, from their striated, or rather furrowed, jointed 

 stems, and the presence in one of his specimens of what he takes 

 to be a sheath ; but the objection to this viev/ is, that they appear 

 to have had both wood and bark, and consequently, with the habit 

 of a Monocotyledonous plant, they come nearer the Dicotyledones 

 in structure. A specimen from the Duke of Hamilton, in the 

 Glasgow Geological Museum, was found in the sandstone in an 

 upright position, and shows the form of the stem without the 

 usual compression ; but it is apprehended, that even were it pos- 

 sible to form a thin polished section, it would exhibit no trace of 

 structure." 



They are also admirably described in Lindley and Hutton's 

 ' Fossil Flora,' vol. i. p. 49. Among the several varieties which I 

 possess, the Calamites nodosus is very common. The Calam. ap- 

 proximatus is also found frequently. The Calam. canncefonnis is 

 rarer : I regret that my specimens of it are poor. The following- 

 are also seldom to be met with here, although I have been able 

 to obtain distinct specimens of them all, viz. Calam. arenaceus, 

 C. Mougeotii and C. verticillatus. 



The Ste7'nbergia approximata is considered rare, and the spe- 

 cimens procured of it are in general small. Lindley calls it " a 

 most singular coal-measure plant occurring in most coal-fields of 

 this country, but not abundant anywhere. The specimens are 

 usually found in sandstone, and are covered with a fine coal, 

 which adheres either in the form of an even, thick, glossy integu- 

 ment, or in a powdery state to the surface of the stem." The 

 Rev. David Landsborough, late minister of the parish of Ste- 

 venston, says, in a letter I had the pleasure of receiving from 

 him a short time ago, " I picked from the middle stratum a fine 

 large specimen of Sternbergia appi'oximata," which shows that 

 such are occasionally to be met with in that quarry. / have not, 

 I regret to say, been so fortunate as to get any " fine large spe- 

 cimen," but have one or two very distinct ones ; two with the coal 

 still adhering, which is very difficult to obtain, as it is so ex- 

 tremely friable. 



I had a very fine specimen of Sternbergia nodosa of a length 



