ON THE LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FLORA AT GULLANE. 217 



Investigation of the Loiocr Carboniferous Flora at Gullane. — 

 Report of the Co^nmittee, consisting of Dr. E. Kidston 

 (Chairman), Dr. W. T. Gordon (Secretary), Dr. J. S.Flett, 

 Professor E. J. Garwood, Dr. J. Horne, and Dr. B. N. 

 Peach. 



A NEW discovery of ijcfcrified plaint-remains was made in 1914 at a 

 point below high-water mark near Gullane, Haddingtonshire- The 

 place could only be reached at certain states of the tide. In order to 

 accelerate collecting, blasting operations were proposed, and a grant 

 voted at last meeting of the Association to meet the expenses. The 

 locality, however, lies within the area of the Forth Estuary, and, 

 although the military and police authorities readily gave permission to 

 blast on the foreshore, it was considered inadvisable to act on that 

 permission meanwhile. No part of the grant was used therefore, but 

 sufficient material has been collected to amplify considerably the data 

 already obtained. Some 150 thin sections of the material have been 

 prepared and examined. 



The flora represented in these sections is as follows: — 



LepidodendroH veltheiinianum, 



Sternb. 

 Stigmaria ficoides, Sternb. 

 Botryopteris (?) antiqua, Kidston. 



Bensonites fusiformis, R. Scott. 

 Pitys primcBva, Witham. 

 Pitys dayii, sp. nov. 

 Pitys sp. nov. 



Chief importance is attached to the specimens of Pilys, as so many 

 well-preserved specimens have never been obtained elsewhere. Many 

 of these examples had the bark preserved, while one of them consisted 

 of a branch tip still clothed with needle-like leaves. Much light has 

 been thrown on the stem structure of the genus, while the details of 

 the connexion of leaf and stem have also been determined. 



As regards the other plant types represented, it is interesting to note 

 the similarity between the whole assemblage and the flora of the 

 Pettycur Limestone at Pettycur, Fife. Indeed, the form Bensonites 

 fusiformis, R. Scott, has not, so far, been recorded except from Petty- 

 cur. Both Gullane and Pettycur lie on the Forth, and the geological 

 horizon of the rocks at both localities is not very different, so that the 

 similarity of the floras is not surprising. 



The specimens from Gullane occur in a greyish-white clastic rock, 

 which, on examination, proved to be a highly decomposed volcanic ash. 

 It is suggested that the decomposition of the ash, by vapours emitted 

 from the volcano during its activity, produced solutions of mineral 

 matter which caused the petrifaction of plant-fragments included in the 

 ash. These plant-fragments occur quite sporadically through the 

 rock, and they have evidently not been drifted in water. The petrify- 

 ing solutions have been both calcareous and siliceous, so that some 

 specimens are preserved in carbonate of lime, others in silica, while a 

 few are partly in the one and partly in the other. 



The perfection of the preservation is very striking, and it is pro- 

 posed to continue collecting specimens when possible. The Com- 

 mittee, therefore, desires reappointment. 



