THE BRIAN OR DEVONIAN FORESTS. 



83 



tion to be mixed with Erian fossils. It is to be observed, 

 however, that the non-occurrence of any similar wood in 

 all the formations between the Upper Erian and the Mid- 

 dle Cretaceous suggests very grave doubt as to the authen- 

 ticity of the specimen. I record the fact, waiting further 

 discoveries to confirm it. Of the character of the speci- 

 men which I have described I entertain no doubt. 



We shall be better able to realise the significance and 

 relations of this ancient flora when we have studied that 

 of the succeeding Carboniferous. We may merely remark 

 here on the fact that, in these forests of the Devonian 

 and in the marshes on their margins, we find a wonder- 

 ful expansion of the now modest groups of llhizocarps 

 and Lycopods, and that the flora as a whole belongs to 

 the highest group of Cryptogams and the lowest of Phae- 

 nogams, so that it has about it a remarkable aspect of 

 mediocrity. Further, while there is evidence of some 

 variety of station, there is also evidence of much equality 

 of climate, and of a condition of things more resembling 

 that of the insular climates of the temperate portions of 

 the southern hemisphere than that of North America or 

 Europe at present. 



The only animal inhabitants of these Devonian woods, 

 so far as known, were a few species of insects, discovered 

 by Hartt in New Brunswick, and described by Dr. Scud- 

 der. Since, however, we now know that scorpions as 

 well as insects existed in the Silurian, it is probable that 

 these also occurred in the Erian, though their remains 

 have not yet been discovered. All the known insects of 

 the Erian woods are allies of the shad-flies and grasshop- 

 pers {Neuroptera and Orthopterd), or intermediate be- 

 tween the two. It is probable that the larvae of most of 

 them lived in water and fed upon the abundant vegetable 

 matter there, or on the numerous minute crustaceans and 

 worms. There were no land vertebrates, so far as known, 

 but there were fishes {Dipterus, etc.), allied to the mod- 



