﻿126 PEEMO-CAEBONIFEEOTJS PLANTS FROM VEEEENIGIN&. [Feb. I908. 



combined with the business of stone-quarrying an inexhaustible 

 enthusiasm for geological pursuits. 



He rejoiced that Prof. Seward confirmed the view that the 

 Coal-Measures of Yereeniging belonged to the Ecca Series. This 

 was the view that had been advocated by Dr. Corstorphine and 

 himself in their ' Geology of South Africa,' The Transvaal Coal- 

 Measures, including those of Yereeniging, had been originally 

 considered by Dr. Molengraaff to be of Stormberg age ; but later 

 on he had come to the conclusion that they corresponded to the 

 Beaufort Beds of the Cape, and that the Ecca Series was not 

 represented at Yereeniging. This view had also been adopted by 

 Mr. Kynaston and Mr. Mellor, of the Transvaal Geological Survey. 

 It did not seem to be supported by the fossil evidence now laid 

 before the Society. The speaker wished to ask Prof. Seward whether 

 he considered all the Coal-Measures of the Transvaal to be of 

 Ecca age, or whether it was his opinion that there had been two 

 distinct cycles of coal-deposition — one in Beaufort times (Middelburg 

 Coalfield), and one in the Ecca period (Yereeniging Coalfield). 



Mr. E. D. Oldham said that the only remarks that he wished to ofi'er 

 on the very interesting paper on the Yereeniging plant-remains had 

 reference to the concluding passages, in which the Authors seemed 

 to minimize the distinction between the Upper Carboniferous and 

 Permian flora of Europe and ]^orth America on the one hand, 

 and that of India, South Africa, and Australia on the other. He 

 himself did not think that the mere occurrence of a few specimens 

 of some of the more typical northern forms in Africa, or the 

 abolition of a few generic distinctions, should be allowed in any 

 way to obscure the essential differences in the type of the two 

 floras. 



Prof. Sewaed, replying to the previous speaker, explained that, 

 while agreeing with him as regarded the well-marked differences 

 between the jSTorthern and Southern floras of Permo-Carboniferous 

 age, he wished to call attention to recent discoveries which 

 tended to connect rather more closely the two botanical provinces. 

 The question raised by Dr. Hatch as to the relative ages of the 

 Middelburg and Yereeniging coal-seams could hardly be answered 

 satisfactorily without further evidence. Some of the Lower 

 Mesozoic plants dealt with by the Author in the first paper were 

 contributed by Mr. Brown, of Aliwal Xorth. 



