r80 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The J are from 4 to 7 inches in diameter, and were so compressed 

 that it was difficult to trace any particular one for any distance. 

 Also, the close similarity between the material of the fossil limbs 

 and the surrounding sandstone rendered the tracing of a limb very 

 difficult. On the opposite end of the excavation (20 feet away) 

 the continuations of two limbs were perfectly distinguishable on 

 the face of the rock ; the larger one being 5 J inches in diameter and 

 of nearly circular cross section. As these limbs are imbedded in 

 solid sandstone several feet below the surface of the ground, they 

 could be removed by careful working, and would give an idea of 

 the total hight of the plant, and possibly would lead to the discov- 

 ery of some fossil fruit or foliage. At this time it was impossible 

 to do better than to save the stumps of a few limbs. 



The material of the fossil varies considerably. While the greater 

 part of the interior of the specimen varies in no particular from the 

 surrounding blue sandstone, and is homogeneous entirely across the 

 trunk, at some places the interior is a crumbling mass of carbo- 

 naceous sand and impure limonite (the latter probably derived from 

 the decomposition of pyrite) and in other places the material is al- 

 most a quartzite, and shows the cellular structure to better advantage. 

 The latter condition prevails particularly in the limbs, which show 

 more of a cellular structure than does the trunk ; several of them 

 are hollow centered and have a tendency to fracture along the rings 

 of growth. Much of the exterior of the trunk was covered with a 

 thin layer of limonitic, earthy material, having a fibrous appearance, 

 which suggested bark ; and many of the troughs between the ridges 

 contained minute layers of soft coal. These materials were so 

 fragile that the greater part of them were destroyed by the neces- 

 sary handling of the specimen. Thin sections of the plant, under a 

 microscope, show a more marked cellular structure than can be de- 

 tected by the eye. Sections of the sandstone composing the trunk, 

 which show no structure whatever to the eye, under the microscope 

 reveal a typical cellular structure. The specimen has not yet been 

 carefully studied under the microscope. 



As the specimen had laid partially uncovered for several years, it 

 was badly fractured by the action of frost and other atmospheric 

 agencies, and it was only with the greatest care that the several 

 hundreds of pieces, into which it fell on attempting to remove it, 



