STRUCTURE. 



233 



West Point, Dec. 10, 1852. 

 PRESIDENT HITCHCOCK : 



Dear Sir, The specimens of fossil woods and fruits from Vermont which you sent 

 long ago, reached me safely, but I have been unable to attend to them until very lately. I 

 have recently made sections of some of them for microscopic examination, but have ob- 

 tained only negative results. The woods are not coniferous, and do not present characters 

 by which I can distinguish them from many ductifferous woods. One of them is remark- 

 able for a great number of large cells (for resin or oil) scattered in radiant plates among 

 the " silver grain" or medullary rays. The small nut-like fruits, No. 13, have been studied 

 by me most carefully, and at first were a complete puzzle, as the cross section showed 

 nothing but "hard tissue" or "sclerogen" (Fig. 161, bis), without any distinct cavity for 



Fio. 161. (Ji.) 



seeds, and yet its exterior markings (Fig. 162) and internal structure showed that it was 

 probably composed of either three or six carpels, and if a capsule of course should contain 

 seeds, or a place for them. By sacrificing the most perfect specimen I at last found the 

 seeds, which appear to have been six in number, and arranged in a radiant manner around 

 the axis, as indicated in the cross section (Fig. 163.) I succeeded in getting several seeds 

 partly exposed, as in Figs. 164, 165 and 166. The testa alone of the seed is preserved and is 



FIG. 164. 



Fio. 166. 



Fio. 162. 



FIG. 163. 



'eetl 



FIG. 165. 



very brittle. I am not much versed in carpology, and therefore can aid you little in deter- 

 mining the family to which the fruit should be referred. It is certainly unlike any of our 

 northern fruits, and I would suggest its comparison with some of the Sapotse, among 



