THE HISTORY OF A DISCOVERY 13^7 



knew that no little labour must be devoted to the 

 work and to its publication, and that some con- 

 troversy might be expected. Mr. Billings, however, 

 with his characteristic caution and modesty, de- 

 clined. His hands, he said, were full of other work, 

 and he had not specially studied the microscopic 

 appearances of Foraminifera or of mineral sub- 

 stances. It was finally arranged that I should 

 prepare a description of the fossil, which Sir 

 William would take to London, along with Dr. 

 Hunt's notes, the more important specimens, and 

 lists of the structures observed in each. Sir William 

 was to submit the manuscript and specimens to 

 Dr. Carpenter, and also to Prof T. Rupert Jones, 

 in the hope that these eminent authorities would 

 confirm our conclusions, and bring forward new 

 facts which I might have overlooked or been ig- 

 norant of Sir William saw both gentlemen, who 

 gave their testimony in favour of the organic and 

 foraminiferal character of the specimens ; and Dr. 

 Carpenter in particular gave much attention to the 

 subject, and worked out the structure of the delicate 

 tubulation of the surfaces of the laminae or cell-walls, 

 which I had not distinguished previously, through 

 a curious accident as to specimens. Mr. Lowe 



