1883-1884.] 259 



as Miocene forms. The Filicites was shown by Dr. J. S. New- 

 berry to be a living fern, Onoclea sensibilis of North America, and 

 also of the Greenland Tertiaries. The Platanites is apparently 

 the Platanus Heerii of the Cretaceous Dakota beds ; another leaf 

 seems to be the Tilia or Lime of the Greenland beds ; another 

 the Corylus of Greenland, and so on.* The chief affinities of 

 the Mull flora are with certain of the Greenland Tertiary floras, 

 and not with any European flora of known Miocene age ; but 

 as the Greenland floras were not known when the Mull flora was 

 pronounced to be Miocene, this affinity could not have in- 

 fluenced the determination. The only plant I find common to 

 the Mull beds and the Antrim beds, so far, is one first found by 

 Mr. Koch, at Midi, not more than three or four years ago, and 

 as no description has been published ofit,\ it cannot have formed 

 the basis of any comparison. It is quite certain that none of the 

 characteristic plants of Ballypalady or Glenarm are yet known 

 from Mull, with the one possible exception alluded to ; equally, 

 also, that the Onoclea sensibilis and Platanites, which are 

 the prevailing fossils of Mull, have not been found at Bally- 

 palady or Glenarm. The only definite notice I can find of any 

 actual comparison having been attempted is where Mr. Baily, 

 in one of his reports, says, " So far as can be judged from a 

 preliminary examination such as this, these plant-remains from 

 between the Basalts of Antrim appear to differ as a group from 

 those obtained in the corresponding beds at the Isle of Mull." 



It thus appears that if the Mull beds were proved to be 

 Miocene, it would not necessarily follow, from the evidence of 

 the plants, that the Antrim beds were even approximately of 

 the same age, since their floras are entirely different. But 

 these floras, however, so resemble certain floras of the Arctic 

 Circle said to be Miocene, as to render it necessary to investigate 

 the grounds on which the age of these latter have been fixed. 



* A more recent examination of the Mull beds leads me to believe that the number 

 of species in them is more restricted than I here suppose. 



t The species will be published with other Coniferae in the volume of the 

 Palaeontographical Society for 1884. 



