( 229) 
the ferns and the sago-palms, but more closely related to 
the latter than to the ferns. 
Floor- and wall-cases No. 4 are devoted to specimens of 
Carboniferous plants in the genera Lepidodendron, Sigil- 
laria and Stigmaria, in order to show the variation in the 
arrangement and shape of the leaf scars and the difference 
between specimens with the bark preserved and those 
which have been decorticated. 
Floor-case No. § contains types of early Mesozoic time: 
Triassic and Jurassic Periods. ‘The plant remains in this 
case are mostly sago-palms or cycads, with a few cone- 
bearers and fern-plants, besides specimens of the so-called 
**Glossopteris flora,” a flora of uncertain botanical relation- 
ship, which flourished in the transition period between 
Paleozoic and Mesozoic time, particularly in the southern 
hemisphere, and may yet be represented by the living 
South African genus Stangeria, a cycad having leaves with 
pinnately arranged forking veins, similar to ferns. 
Floor-case No. 6 encloses plant remains from the rocks 
of later Mesozoic time: Lower and Middle Cretaceous 
Period. These specimens represent the first appearance 
of the higher-seed-bearing plants (Angiosperms), the type 
which is dominant in the existing flora. The genera are 
in most instances apparently identical with those now in 
existence, but the species are extinct. The plants of the 
Lower Cretaceous consist largely of ferns and cone-bearers, 
while those of the middle Cretaceous show a preponderance 
of angiosperms. 
Floor-case No. 7 is arranged to show specimens of the 
Middle Cretaceous flora found within the limits of the 
City of New York, on Staten Island, or in the immediate 
vicinity in New Jersey and on Long Island. 
Floor-case No. 8 contains specimens from the Middle 
Cretaceous of the western States. Those from the Dakota 
Group are exceptionally fine, many of them being perfectly 
preserved and showing both case and impression of the 
same leaf as counterparts. 
