160 



Coal ,., 



Blue clay shales ... 



Fine grey sandstone 



wise's shaft. 



Sandstone . 



69 



21 



Feet. In. 



Yellowish-white clay, more or less lami- 

 nated with impressions of Zeugophyl- 

 lites, etc .' ... 65 



Coal 4 







FRESH CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OP 

 THE PLANTS OP MESOZOIC AGE IN TASMANIA. 



By R. M. Johnston, P.L.S. 



Certain beds of the well-known grey shales have recently 

 been exposed at Lord's Hill, New Town, by Mr. Dorman, 

 builder, who kindly afforded me every facility for their ex- 

 amination. These beds are intimately associated with the 

 beds containing the coal seams at New Town, and as they 

 were unusually full of impressions of plant remains, I spent 

 several days in making collections and in thoroughly ex- 

 amining the numerous forms. The results have far surpassed 

 my utmost expectation, for in the following pages I shall be 

 able to show that about 15 forms of great interest, new to 

 science, have been added to the list of the Mesozoic plants 

 of this island. 



The cycadeous and coniferous plants especially are very 

 important, and are more fully discussed under the section 

 where they are specifically classed and described. The genus 

 Baiera is of more than ordinary interest, as I was fortunate 

 in obtaining both the male and female fructification attached 

 to the pedicels of the plants, which are very numerous 

 in these shales, and share with Thinnfeldia obtusifolia, 

 Johnston; Alethopteris Australis, Morris; Neuropteris Tasma- 

 niensis, Johnston ; Pterophyllum Strahani, Johnston, in 

 being the most abundant and typical of the numerous forma 

 of plants occurring in great perfection in the shaly beds at 

 the place indicated. 



The following is a more complete list of the species ob- 

 served by me at this place, all of which were obtained within 

 the space of a few yards in width and one or two feet in 



