[_^ _ [ TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION K, 721 



— notably Bemiettites Gibsonianus Will, and Cupressinoxylon vectensc Barber^ 

 have been so few that it has been impossible to speak of a Lower Greensand 

 ' flora.' It has been generally assumed that both the climate, and the animals 

 and plants then living were the same as those of the preceding Wealden. 



As a result of recent work the author has now brought together a flora 

 consisting of 45 species, containing 9 Cycadophyta, 27 Conifers, and 5 Angio- 

 sperms. Most of these are represented by petrifactions of the cellular anatomy, 

 and many are very beautifully preserved. 



Some of the forms have structures of botanical interest, while others are 

 of value as indicators of the climate of the epoch, of which nothing was 

 previously known. It is interesting to find evidence of a change of climatic 

 conditions about this time, so that the cooler weather and Viell-marked seasons 

 of the Lower Greensand afford a great contrast to the ' tropical climate ' of 

 the Wealden of Southern England. 



Among the plants of botanical interest may be mentioned a new genus of 

 Cycadophyta with curious wood structure ; a new species of Protopiceoxylon ; 

 the leaf anatomy of a true Sequoia; several species of Pityoxylon with well- 

 developed ray-tracheids ; and several Dicotyledons. It should be remembered 

 that these are all contemporaneous with the type species of Bcnnettitcs. The 

 Angiosperms are the oldest found in Northern Europe, and the oldest of which 

 the anatomy is known. They are all woody; two of them, at least, must have 

 had tall timber trunks. In some of them the minute details are particularly 

 beautifully petrified, and show a very high degree of organisation. Like the 

 Conifers, they show seasonal growth. They represent a dry — possibly fairly 

 high — land vegetation. 



3. The Application of Science to the Cotton Industry. 

 By "W. Laweence Balls, M.A. 



The cotton industry does not consist of spinning and manufacture alone, but 

 of cotton-growing as well. Co-operation between the spinner and the grower is 

 desirable, and for this the scientists should be able to provide a language 

 common to both. 



Advances may be made in the organisation of the industry as a whole by 

 more exact knowledge of the available supplies of raw material. Science could 

 be applied to steady the market by producing precise crop-reports and crop- 

 forecasts, which might even be issued daily, like weather-charts. The seed- 

 supply might also be arranged so that production should meet the demand fore- 

 seen by the mills. 



In studying the cotton-crop it is now an easy matter to follow the life- 

 history of experimental plots and areas in minute detail from day to day 

 throughout the season. The effects of weather, soil, &c., can thus be exactly 

 traced. Cotton-growing need not be an empirical art. 



The introduction of pure strains of cotton has already thrown some light 

 on the spinning properties of raw cotton. Pure-strain lint will spin well, even 

 when the sample is such as the expert grader would condemn as worthless. 

 It is more uniform. If thoroughly studied in the mill, this peculiar behaviour 

 of pure strains will lead to better knowledge of the spinning properties of 

 cotton-. 



Such knowledge of the causes which determine the properties of any given 

 sample of cotton is not merely desirable, but is necessary, if co-operation is to 

 be effected between the grower and the spinner. The latter must be able to state 

 what kind of cotton he needs, using language which the grower can imder- 

 stand. At present the sole reliable test for the value of a sample of cotton 

 is to spin yarn from it, which the grower obviously cannot do. 



With such knowledge and co-operation, the strength of the yarn might be 

 increased very appreciably. 



1915. 3 A 



