89 



a few are perfect except for being somewhat flattened by pressure. 

 While the beech is decidedly a later Tertiary type, remains have 

 been found as far back as the mid-Cretaceous, both in this country 

 and Europe. It has been detected also in the Pliocene of Europe 

 and Japan, and the present species occurs in the Pleistocene (?) 

 at Somerville, Fayette County, Tenn., and in the glacial at Mor- 

 gantown. West Virginia. While over a score of fossil species are 

 known, the existing flora contains but four, the American, the 

 European, and two from Japan, evidently the surviving descend- 

 ants of a once dominant and widespread genus. 



ViTis sp. 



A single grape-seed w^as found, showing the characteristic 

 raphe. I have not ventured, however, to identify it specifically. 

 Among the fragments of bark and stems of which the lignite 

 largely consists are a number of stems that have every appear- 

 ance of belonging to the vine. Grapes are first recorded from the 

 uppermost Cretaceous, becoming abundant in the Miocene. The 

 European Tertiary has furnished two Pliocene and two Pleisto- 

 cene forms, but none has been recorded, so far as I know, from 

 the American Pleistocene. 



HicoRiA GLABRA (Mill.) Britton. 



Remains consist of one perfect specimen of the nut and sev- 

 eral fragments. Shells are worn and do not show angles. While 

 small for this species, 1 3 mm. in diameter, they have the charac- 

 teristic very thick shell. This is the first recorded fossil occur- 

 rence of the pig nut, although the pecan has been found in the 

 Pleistocene of Kentucky and the shagbark in that of Canada. 

 The genus appears doubtfully in the upper Cretaceous and is one 

 of the dominant Tertiary types. 



Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. 



Cone-scales of this species are common, a dozen being found 

 in the small amount of material examined. This was to be ex- 

 pected from the frequent occurrence of stumps in the Pleistocene. 

 The genus appears in the upper Cretaceous and is one of the 

 abundant conifers of the Miocene. 



