566 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Juiie \'3, 



12. On some small Seed-vessels (Folliculites minutulus, 

 Bronn) from the Bovey Tracey Coal. By J. D. Hooker, 

 M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



[Plate XVII.] 



The remarkable fruit which forms the chief subject of the present 

 comnuuiicatioii was first brought under my notice by my lamented 

 friend the late Prof. E. Forbes, who pointed out to me specimens of 

 it in the Museum of the Geological Survey, and entrusted me with a 

 couple for examination. Shortly after having made a complete 

 analysis of these, a very fine series of Bovey Tracey peats and lig- 

 nites was sent to the Museum of the Koyal Gardens of Kew, by Dr. 

 Croker, amongst which were numerous specimens of the same fossil 

 in an excellent state of preservation. An examination of several of 

 these has enabled me to add a little to the analysis which I had pre- 

 viously made, and has confirmed it in all essential points. 



As was the case with CarpoUthes ovidum *, there are no fossil 

 vegetable remains accompanying the Folliculites that suggest any 

 clue to its botanical affinity. The mass of the lignite appears to be 

 formed of coniferous wood, some in the state of charcoal, and the re- 

 mainder more or less highly bituminized. 



From Dr. Croker' s description and accompanying sections t, the 

 main body of the formation seems to consist of 



1. A bed of peat containing trunks of trees not now found in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, but which ap})car to me to agree in micro- 

 scopical character with the common Maple {Acer campestre). These 

 are quite fresh and white, and lie in immediate contact with the 

 surface of the uppermost bed of lignite. 



2. The upper layers of lignite are very different, and in them was 

 found a cone, so closely resembling that of a Scotch Fir (Pinus 

 si/lvestris), that I doubt its being specifically distinct fi'om that plant. 

 The only specimen hitherto discovered appears to have been neaily 

 or fully ripe, and contains winged seeds, also quite agreeing with 

 those of the Scotch Fir. This upper lignite, when microscopically 

 examined, is found to be composed of coniferous wood, and is similar 

 to the lower lignite. 



3. Beneath the upper layers of the lignite is a thick bed of 

 ferruginous granitic sand. 



4. Ten beds of good coal (lignite), the upper of which are parted 

 by beds of blue clay. 



Below the blue clay is the layer containing the Folliculites, which 

 are thickly strewed over the surfaces of the laminae of lignite, and 

 t>li2;htlv imbedded in them, as if the latter had been soft when the 

 deposit was formed. They lie in all directions, but always on their 

 flat sides, as if they had been floated into the places they occupy ; 

 though this by no means follows, as their compressed form may be 

 due to pressure. 



Small pieces of resin, similar to the "Ilighgate Resin," are found 



* See above, p. 562. 



t See also Parkinson's * Organic Remains,' vol. i. p. 126 &c. 



