| E. Hitchcock on a Brown Coal Deposit in Brandon, Vt. 97 
me to have been drift wood. he largest mass which I have — 
| seen, and to which I have already referred as sent me by Mr. 
Howe, resembles exceedingly a battered piece of flood-wood ; 
which led Mr. Howe humourously to inscribe upon the box in 
which it was sent, ‘A piece of flood-wood from Noah’s Ark.” 
This lignite in all cases retains and exhibits upon a fresh frac- 
ture, its organic structure. Yet generally it is quite brittle, and 
when broken across the fibres it has the aspect of very compact 
coal, which admits of a good polish. In some specimens the 
original toughness of the wood is not quite lost, and the aspect 
| of the wood remains. 
2 rhe large mass of which I have already spoken, as now in the 
cabinet of Amherst College, is four feet long and sixteen inches 
in its largest diameter. It is considerably flattened, but seems 
to have been so originally. In the peaty matter that adheres to 
it, [noticed several specimens of fruit, and more than one species. 
With perhaps one or two exceptions, all the lignite of this de- 
posit belongs to the exogenous or dicotyledonous class of plants. 
| In general the texture is close, and some of the wood is very fine 
grained and heavy. The bark is often quite distinct. I have 
been inclined to refer some of the wood to the maple ; yet prob- 
au'Y @ good deal of it is coniferous: but my microscopic exami- 
Hations on this point have not been as satisfactory as I could wish. 
Ido not think much of the wood belongs to the pine tribe now 
common in this latitude. I have placed specimens in the hands 
of several distinguished vegetable physiologists, and had hoped 
ete this to learn their opinion ; but they have not yet given it. 
The fruits and seeds of this deposit are the most interesting of 
~ relics found in it. But they are even more perplexing than 
he lignite. As yet I hardly dare venture to refer any of them to 
“8 or fossil genera known to me. I shall, therefore, merely 
“sent figures of the principal distinet forms which I have ob- 
tained, and leave a minute description to some future occasion. 
i. Ne Mi 
Hu 
ee ee ee eee eT eee ee ee 
f 
if ff 
ty J 
vi Pig, l exhibits the most common fruit, both flatwisefand edge- 
* It is always thus flattened; and when dried, the two 
mond Sentes, Vol XV, No, 43,—Jan, 1853. 13 
