REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 1898 r81 



could be SO marked and preserved that it was possible to reunite 

 tliem at tlie museum. 



Evidence of plant life abounds in the sandstone and shale at this 

 locality. Strata overlying those from which this plant was taken, 

 and outcropping 50 yards farther up the hillside, are filled with 

 fragments of plant remains a few inches in length and J inch wide, 

 which resemble fragments of seaweeds. 



At several localities the black, carbonaceous condition of the shale 

 has lead to considerable excavating in a search for coal, which is, of 

 course, fruitless. It is stated that small quantities of " soft coal ' • 

 (lignite) have been found that will burn readily in an open grate. 



As no paleobotanist has yet studied this specimen, its identity is 

 not determined. The transverse ridges may have been formed at 

 the bases of the leaves, in a manner similar to the ridges thus 

 formed on a cornstalk or sugar cane. Prof. John M. Clarke, as- 

 sistant state geologist, suggests that it may be the gigantic seaweed, 

 described by Dawson under the name •' Cell uloxy Ion pri- 

 m ae vu m ." 



The separate fragments have all been united with glue, the 

 interstices filled with cement, and the entire specimen will be 

 mounted in a bed of sand, over which a layer of hydraulic cement 

 will be spread to hold the specimen rigid and to prevent the access 

 of air and dampness. 



Whatever the family and species of this plant may prove to be, 

 it is extremely rare from this horizon, and is a very valuable acces- 

 sion to the collections of the museum. 



Plate 1 shows the plant under a light mantle of snow. The trans- 

 verse ridges are very prominently shown. Plate 2 shows the plant 

 with the surrounding rock removed, and ready to be taken out. 

 The branching end is at the bottom of the picture ; and the impos- 

 sibility of collecting the branches will readily be noticed. A com- 

 parison of plates 1 and 2 shows the length of the section that had 

 been removed by other persons. Plate 3 shows the impression left 

 in the sandstone after the specimen was removed.^ 



1 Since the above was written a microscopic examination of a part of the trunk has been made 

 by Prof. D. P. Penhallow who determines it to be Nematophyton logani Dawson. 



