10 



"1 foimd the HpuLioM vvliich I fust called Eophnllum in a piece of 

 Eozoon, in the fiiKt wliite baud of limcHtone overlying a layer of ser- 

 pentine* ; in other words between two layers of serpentine. Then first 

 this question otcurred to me : Are not the whole lumps of Eoisoon 

 plants ? I was forced to yield to the inference after I hful exposed, by 

 applying Hydrochloric acid tn the limestone, some larj^er lamellae 

 which were in connection with serpentinic layers ; indeed, the forms 

 are so permanent and so constantly reappearing that they cannot be 

 explained otherwise. Of t dinse witli this there was gained the best 

 argument against t animal theory; for, hitlierto the discovered 

 species of Alg;p ha\ ■ never be(!ii found in either stones or shells. 

 This plant belongs to the family of tlic Alga'. They either rest im- 

 mediately uiiou dolomite and gneiss, or. arc found .a the proper 

 Bvophyllous limestone, i.e. in the layers of st-rpentine limestone, be- 

 tween the large strata of doJMniitc and serpentine. They are, however, 

 not only to be found iu tlir limestone, but also in the stii)eutine of 

 the strata. No ,iiaiits or Imt few. arc found in the tliiik I;i} crs of scr- 

 pentins wl-."ili (Mu lose the Eophyllous limestone: certainly none in 

 the lowest. Some of them may be seen with the naked eye, while 

 with the microscoi)e, \vv come to the smallest conceivable forms. 

 Being replaced by silicates, they may be exposed by the application 

 of acid to the limestone. This done, the plants mt'ke tlieir appearance 

 as shining white stems, calyxes, and ler/i es. In thinly ground plates, 

 they ajipear a yellowish browu. 'J'liis, probably, is the reason that 

 Mohius describes their color as being a light l)rown. In reality, it is 

 the refraction of the light in the opacjue masses." * 



" There was scarcely ever a more dilticult task given to natural 

 science, than the deter'uination of the nature of '^ Euzooii." When I 

 made my lirst annininccmcnt of Eoji/ti/tltnu in the "Auslaud" I little 

 thought that the large ribbons of serpentine were also plants. I had 

 already half-finished this work after my original plan, when I came 

 across a defective specimen of rock, in which, in consequence of its 

 defectiveness, tlu' serpentiue parts were very clearly distinguishable. 



"T looked at it over and over again, till it .struck me that the 

 sarcode-i hambcrs were nothing but cells of plants. Thus the fate of 

 the microscopist is decideti. What others can see with the naked 

 eye he does not see at all. Then came the more difficult part: the 

 examination of the case. Now, I had no more doubt. And in this 

 manner only facts become clear. The ribbons of serpentine which 

 constitute that which is called Eoxoon, behmg to an alga with broad 

 leaves — if the expressicui is permitted — which radiating from one point 

 arranges itself in regular forms. The basal-cell rests upon serpentine 

 or d«domite. Roots I found only in one case, of which, however, I am 

 not sure. The limestone is the replacing-material. The germ-cells 



i 



•Thus far, the author refers principally to the serpentine casts of 

 the canal .systeui. 



