62 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



and other parts of the world, and frequent reference is made to 

 that of the Kreischerville clays, as described by Holllick and 

 Jeffrey, whose works are frequently cited throughout the paper. 

 The species Prepinus statenensis Jeffrey, based upon Staten 

 Island material, is critically discussed and compared with other 

 species of Prepinus and Pinus, and the author states that " Hol- 

 lick and Jeffrey's studies on conifers from the Middle Cretaceous 

 of the Staten Island are of high importance. Among other things 

 the morphological and anatomical characters of Brachyphyllum 

 macrocarpum interest me in particular, as it seems to be allied 

 with one of the plants which I have been studying recently." 

 After discussing the Japanese fossil genus Yesonia the author 

 remarks "As it became thus highly probable that our Yezonia 

 and the American Brachyphyllum from the Cretaceous bed at 

 Kreischerville are related to each other, a comparison of the na- 

 ture of pittings of the tracheids and of ray cells became much 

 desirable." As a result of such comparison the author is now 

 inclined to consider Yeconia as a plant of araucarian affinity, 

 instead of as belonging in an extinct family closely allied with 

 the Cycadaceae, as it was originally regarded. 



The attention which has been accorded the Staten Island Cre- 

 taceous material, not only in Japan but elsewhere abroad, is ex- 

 ceedingly interesting and should inspire further collecting and 

 study on the part of those who have the opportunity. 



The author also discusses the factors which may have been in- 

 strumental in causing the extinction of floras, and one of those 

 mentioned has such an immediate local application in relation to 

 the existing vegetation that I quote it entire, viz., " another fac- 

 tor, which may be thought of, is the sulphur dioxide and other 

 injurious gases from volcanoes, which have been probably much 

 more active and extensively found in the old geological periods. 

 Such gases might have been the causes of local destruction of 

 species, just as the sulphur dioxide displays its awful effect upon 

 coniferous forests and many other evergreens and herbs, as is 

 well known in the district near any large mines, where an enor- 



