ON THE STRUCTURE OF FOSSIL PLANTS. 493 



Tlie Stmckire of Fossil Plants. — Report of the Committee, consisting 

 of Dr. D. H. Scott (Ghairman)^ Professor F. W. Oliver 

 (tSecretari/), Mr. E. Newell Arber, and Professors A. C. 

 Seward and F. E. Weiss. 



Only IZ. lis. of last year's grant has been spent. The reason why so 

 little of the money has been required is that the material necessary has 

 not been available for the special investigations in hand. Two papers, 

 based largely on specimens obtained by means of previous grants, have 

 appeared this year : — 



1 . Professor F. E. Weiss, ' A Stigmaria with Centripetal Wood ' 

 ('Annals of Botany,' vol. xxii. April 1908). 



2. Messrs. E. A. N. Arber and H. H. Thomas, ' On the Structure of 

 Sigillaria scutellata and other Eusigillarian Stems ' (' Proc. Royal Soc.,' 

 vol. Ixxx., April 10, 1908). [The full paper, in the ' Phil. Trans.,' will 

 appear immediately.] 



The Committee ask for reappointment, with a grant of 15/. to enable 

 them to obtain new material as opportunity arises. 



Sequence of Flant Remains. — Interim Report of the Gom.mittee, con- 

 sisting of Professor J. B. Farmer (Chairman), Professor R. J. 

 Harvey Gibson (Secretary), Dr. J. Horne, Dr. Marr, Mr. 

 Clement Reid, and Mr. Francis J. Lewis, appointed to examine 

 the Sequence of Plant Remains in the Peat Beposits of Teesdale 

 and Stainmore (Gnmherland and Westmorland) and the Western 

 Portion of Iceland. • 



This investigation was begun in Iceland last year. During September, a 

 journey was taken through the S.W. of Iceland between Reykjavik and 

 Fjlotshlid— a distance of about 130 miles — and the more extensive areas 

 of peat were noted, and sections taken in the Reykir district and in the 

 neighbourhood of Havnafjord. A considerable part of this area is 

 covered with peat, the deposits varying in thickness from 3 feet to more 

 than 15 feet. 



Nearly all the peat deposits visited were found to be covered with 

 2 to 3 feet of extremely fine yellow dust having all the characteristics of 

 loess. These deposits occur in bi'oad shallow valleys and on gently 

 sloping gi'ound. No peat more than a few inches in thickness was 

 observed at a greater elevation than 500 feet above sea-level. 



For about 20 miles to the east of the Pjorsa Pi.iver the ground is 

 Hat and covered with peat, generally exceeding 15 feet in depth. These 

 deposits consist of almost equal quantities of fine dust and plant 

 remains. The northern part of this district bordering on the Rdngar- 

 vallasveit is generally covered with 3 feet of loess, but in the southern 

 part near the coast the peat is generally well exposed. 



The present vegetation of the loess-covered peat mosses consists of 

 Dryas octopetala, Einpetrum nigrum, Calluna vulgaris, Selaginella 

 spinosa, Salix lanata, S. herbacea, Vaccinium Myrtillus, Polygonum 

 viviparum, Thalictrum aljnnum. Every section taken last year in the 



