* 
1906] JEFFREY & CHRYSLER—CRETACEOUS PITYOXYLA 9 
from a newly exposed section at Third Cliff, Scituate, Mass. Al- 
though there is some question as to the exact geological age of the 
strata from which it was taken, it is considered desirable to refer 
to it at the present time on account of the interesting similarity to 
the species discussed above. Dr. Bowman describes‘? the section 
from which the material was taken as follows: “The section at Third 
Cliff shows yellow clays at the base conformably overlain by yellow 
and white sands and succeeded by a bed of bright red sands with 
an unconformity at their base. On the eroded edges of the red 
and white beds are deposited dark glauconitic and lignitic clays and 
sands. The entire series of beds has a total maximum thickness 
of 60 or 70 feet and outcrops for half a mile along the cliff face. 
Absolutely no erratic material occurs either within the beds them- 
selves or along the lines of unconformity.’’ The lignite to be de- 
scribed came from the ‘“‘lignitic sands and clays” just mentioned. 
The material consisted originally of several laminated and badly 
preserved fragments, together with one larger piece, cubical and 
about 12°™ in its three dimensions. The better-preserved fragment 
has served as the basis of the following description. As the result 
of decay and pressure, the lignite has suffered some compression 
both in the radial and tangential planes. The stress in the radial 
plane has produced a considerable sinuosity in the course of the 
wood rays. The annual rings cannot be made out with the naked 
eye or even with a pocket lens of some degree of magnification. 
Fig. 8 shows a magnified portion of a transverse section of this 
wood. The area of the photograph includes parts of two annual 
rings. The line of demarcation is very indistinct and runs obliquely 
a little above the lower third of the photograph. The rays are very 
dark on account of the highly resinous character of their contents. 
Two large patches of parenchyma may be seen surrounding two 
vertical resin canals. The large amount of resiniferous parenchyma 
about the canals is particularly characteristic of this species. There 
are no parenchyma cells in the wood other than those surrounding 
the resin canals. The annual rings have a very slight radius of 
curvature and are somewhat distorted on account of the compression 
of the wood, although the elements which compose them are well 
11 Science N. S. 22:993-994. 1905. 
