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(^From the Canadian Natimtlist, Vol. X. No. 2.) 



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Note on a Fern associated with Platephemera An- 

 TiQUA, Scuddcr. By J. W. Dawson, L.L.D., F.R.S., ^c. 



The oldest remains of insects known to geologists, those of the 

 Brian (Devonian) shales of St. John, New Brunswick, occur in 

 beds rich in plant remains. It was indeed solely by means of 

 the extensive quarrying operations carried on by Messrs. Hartt 

 and Matthew in these beds in search of fossil plants, that the 

 insect remuius wore discovered. In less thoroughly explored 

 beds, fossils so rare and so obscure could not have beer found. 

 It is natural therefore that fossil plants should occur on the 

 same slabs with the insects. On one of tiicse, holding a frag- 

 ment of the wing oi' Flatcphcmcra antujua, there appears a con- 

 siderable portion of a frond of Pecopteris (^Aspiditcs) serndata, 

 Hartt, a common species in these beds, and also a smi.U frag- 

 ment of a leaf of the still more common Cordnites liohbll. It 

 appears that Dr. Geinitz of Dresden saw this specimen in 1866, 

 and not being at that time familiar with the ferns of the De- 

 vonian of New Brunswick, very naturally supposed that the 

 frond was that of the closely allied I*, jdumosn of Brongniart, 

 and on this ground he was induced to liint a suspicion that the 

 specimen was of Carboniferous age. Dr. Scuddcr referred to 

 this opinion of Geinitz in his paper on Devonian insects in the 

 Geological Magazine, Vol. V. ; and gave reasons sustaining the 

 Devonian age of both fern and insect. I did not think it neces- 

 sary to refer publicly to the matter, but took occasion to explain 

 the true state of the case in a private letter to Geinitz ; and in 

 my report on the Devonian plants of Canada I quoted Hartt's 

 description in full, and noticed the distinctness of his species 

 from P. plumosa . 



I find, however, that this doubt ht'.s been revived by Dr. Hagen 

 in a paper on Devonian insects in the Bulletin of the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology for the present year (Vol. viii. No. 14). 

 Dr. Hagen does not profess to be an authority in fossil plants, 

 but fortifies his statements by a letter from Mr. Lesquereux, 

 which does not however touch the question at issue, as he does 

 nut appear to have compared the specimen or Hartt's species with 



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