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a seed resembling the seed of some large gourd ; some exotic fruit, 

 like a small melon ; a stone resembling that of an East-India mango ; 

 a fruit somewhat resembling that of the Euonymus latifolius of 

 Cluvius ; a small bean, resembling a horse-bean ; a species of ches- 

 nut, like the horse chesnut of America ; a fruit resembling a small 

 Palma Cocoa ; another, seeming to be a species of foreign walnut; 

 and others, which seemed to resemble Myrobolans and Phaseoli. 



From the state in which these were found, and from want of 

 their accordance, in many respects, with the seeds or fruits which 

 they are said to resemble, Dr. Parsons, very properly, does not too 

 strenuously insist on their having been those identical seeds, or 

 fruits, to which their appearances approximate. Indeed he candidly 

 acknowledges the difficulty of deciding with respect to them : and 

 particularly mentions two specimens, which he thought were figs, 

 petrified when hard and green ; being then, he thought, capable of 

 being impregnated with pyritical particles, which might prevent 

 their perishing. These, however, he afterwards found were fossils 

 rather deserving to be classed with the Fungoides : among which he 

 also places another fossil which he, at first, was inclined to consider 

 as a fossil fruit. 



To show what caution is necessary, in admittipg as real petrifac- 

 tions of fruits, many of those substances which have been so de- 

 scribed by the earlier oryctologists, I can assure you that 1 could 

 have laid before you the figures of a pples, pears, plums, &c. 

 which would pass with many unquestioned ; but which undoubtedly 

 owe their forms to mere accident. In particular, I could call your 

 attention to a silicious stone, which not only bears the exact form 

 of a pear; but which has a regularly-formed depression, at the 

 smaller end, resembling that which would have been left on the 

 coming out of the stalk ; the stone, at this part, on being examined 

 with a glass, appearing evidently tinged with green : but that it has 

 not owed its origin to the fruit which it so much resembles, is, how- 



