Eusphenopteris tenella and Sphenopteris microcarpa. 9 
men is exhibited in the Museum of the Glasgow University, 
from the “ Roof of the Kiltongue Coal, Bailieston.” 
I have placed this fern in Schimper’s Husphenopterts in 
preference to Brongniart’s generic name of Sphenopteris, as 
those individuals with cuneate segments form a very dis- 
tinct group of the Sphenopteroids, and their removal from 
Sphenopteris helps to simplify that complex genus*. 
In some recent works on vegetable paleontology attempts 
have been made to found a classification of ferns on the basis of 
their fructification; but so few fossil ferns having been obtained 
in this state has necessitated the introduction of two sets 
of characters in the classification of one group of plants: viz. 
those found in fruit are classified according to the structure 
and arrangement of that organ ; but those whose fruit is still 
unknown, are classified, as formerly, from characters possessed 
by the barren fronds. 
If the system of classification according to fruit be adopted 
with L. tenella, I believe a new genus would be required for 
its reception ; but for the foregoing reasons I prefer retaining it 
with the other Eusphenopteroids till more is known of their 
fruit. Even were there evidence for a complete classification 
founded on the fruit, it would prove of little value to the 
working paleontologist, who has, in the great majority of 
cases, to deal with barren specimens. 
II. Sphenopteris microcarpa, Lesq. (PI. I. figs. 7-14.) 
Atlas of Coal Flora of Pennsylvania, pl. xlvii. fig. 2; Coal Flora of 
Pennsylvania, p. 281. 
About two years ago Mr. J. Bennie handed to me for 
examination a small specimen of this fern, beautifully fruited, 
but which at the time I was unable to identify. Shortly 
after I saw a copy of the ‘ Atlas to the Coal Flora of Penn- 
sylvania and the United States,’ by Lesquereux, which was 
published in 1879. On plate xlvu. fig. 2 of this work a 
small Sphenopteroid is illustrated under the name of Sph. 
microcarpa; but from the figure given I could not definitely 
determine that the plant collected by Mr. Bennie belonged to 
the same species, and at that time no description of it had 
appeared. This lack, however, was supplied in 1880, when 
the same author published the ‘ Description of the Coal Flora 
of the Carboniferous Formation,’ &c. He gives here a very 
good description of the barren fronds; and in regard to the 
fertile it is stated that “each of the small obtuse teeth or 
indentations on the borders of the lobes has, at the top of one 
* Schimper und Zittel, ‘Handbuch der Paliontologie,’ p. 107. 
