222 Messrs. Hancock & Attliey on Fossil Fungi 



are somewhat irregular in form, mostly partaking, however, 

 of the circle or ellipsis : one such elongated specimen is an 

 inch in length. Some have the margin a little sinuous ; others 

 are even pedunculate, or at least have a narrow produced pro- 

 cess at one end ; and it is not uncommon to find them very 

 much flattened, squeezed out as it were, till the margins are 

 quite sharp. The surface is invariably dull and much like 

 the matrix in texture, though in one or two instances we have 

 perceived indications of a reticulated structure. They leave 

 the matrix with great facility, frequently dropping out of it 

 on the shale heing split open. 



When sections of these bodies are viewed by transmitted 

 light, they vary in colour from carmine to warm yellow, re- 

 sembling much in this respect fossil wood from the same loca- 

 lity, though the latter is never so bright in tint. Like fossil 

 wood, too, the sections have a tendency to warp when placed 

 on the slide, and consequently the outer margin or rim is fre- 

 quently cracked all round on putting on the cover. 



That they are non-calcareous is proved by a very simple 

 experiment. If we place a fossil tooth or bone from the News- 

 ham Shale in dilute nitric acid, a violent effervescence imme- 

 diately ensues, and the result is that in an hour or two the 

 specimens are either entirely broken down or are so much re- 

 duced that they crumble to pieces on being touched with the 

 finger ; hence it is evident that such fossils from the above- 

 mentioned locality retain their calcareous matter not much, if 

 at all, changed. Now when we treat one of the lenticular 

 bodies in question with nitric acid of the same strength, no 

 action whatever takes place, and after being immersed in it for 

 several hours no perceptible effect is produced. Fossil wood 

 from Newsham Shale is likewise unaffected when subjected to 

 the same influence. We have thus a proof that these lenti- 

 cular bodies are non-calcareous, and strong presumptive evi- 

 dence as to the probability of their being of vegetable origin*. 



Indeed that they are so does not admit of a doubt. If there 

 were no other evidence of the fact, it is demonstrated by their 

 organic structure. Originally, as already stated, we took this 

 organic structure (the tubular ramifications) to be a parasitic 

 fungus, and the substance in which it was imbedded to be 

 wood. And assuredly the tubiilar ramifications resemble very 

 closely those of the unicellular fungi before alluded to, many 

 species of which we have in our possession. The size and 

 general character of the tubes, the mode of ramification, and 



• Some account of these lenticular bodies has recently been given, 

 in ' Scientific Opinion,' by Mr. T. P. Barkas, -wlio supposed them to be 

 fisb-otolites. 



