368 H.von Meyer on the Archzopteryx lithographica, 
As regards the first question, I can assert that the fossil be- 
fore me, in its two corresponding slabs, is derived from the 
quarries of Solenhofen, whence it came to me direct. The stone 
agrees perfectly with the lithographic slate in fracture, weight, 
and mass. The colour is that of the ash-grey variety; the 
cleavage-surfaces are flat and spotted with brown, especially on 
the slab in which the feather is most distinctly shown. This 
slab is 0:022 metre, the opposite one 0-016 metre in thickness. 
The notion that the stone has been artificially prepared is quite 
inadmissible. On the outer surfaces small Echinoderms of the 
genus Saccosoma are observed, and these may serve to place the 
age of the stone beyond a doubt. 
The second question may also be answered most satisfactorily. 
The object occurring on the stone agrees in all its parts so per- 
fectly with the feather of a bird, that it is impossible to distin- 
guish it therefrom. The feather is admirably preserved; the 
extremity of the stem alone is less distinctly exhibited, betraying 
a softer consistence of this part, which will be due to the fact 
that the feather was not completely developed, or that it belonged 
to a young animal. The entire length of the feather is 0-069 
metre, of which 0°054 belongs to the vane, which is truncated at 
right angles and rounded-off at the extremity, and has a nearly 
uniform breadth of 0°011 metre; the breadth only diminishes a 
little towards the truncated extremity. The stem was pretty 
strong, and measures fully 0°001 metre in thickness. The fibres 
of which the vane is composed may be distinctly traced; even 
the small barbules with which they are beset may be recognized, 
Here and there the vane gapes a little, probably in consequence 
of pressure upon the original curvature of the feather, which is: 
completely flattened. It is at the same time nearly straight, and 
the vane on one side is twice as broad as that on the other, in 
which it resembles a wing or tail quill-feather. The vane is 
blackish brown, and becomes a little darker towards the ex- 
tremity, which might be due to the original coloration. This 
feather is only a little smaller and less rounded or more an- 
gular at the extremity of the vane than that of the common 
Partridge. . 
Lastly, as regards the third question, I have employed the 
most careful investigation for its solution, but can only come to 
the conclusion that the feather is truly fossilized, and of the 
same age as the Lithographic Slate, to which, therefore, it truly 
