374 L. Lesquereur on the Coal Formations of N. America. 
are coarse, micaceous, and generally barren of fossil remains; 
but it is separated into two by a shale parting, of from two to 
eighteen inches, which contains a great abundance of broken re- 
mains of plants, Here, we have scarcely any trace of Lepidoden- » 
dron, but a remarkable abundance of Calamites, Asterophyllites, 
Neuropteris flecuosa Brgt., Neuropteris hirsuta Lsqx., Cordattes bo- 
rassifolia Ung. I have found with this coal Lepidodendron obova- 
tum Sternb., Sigillaria Brardii Brgt., with its leaves, and an unde- 
scribable Lepidostrobus Brgt. Without doubt, it has many 
culiar species, but I have never found the shales hard enough 
ing specimens even of a moderate size. As soon as 
they are exposed to atmospheric influence, they are rapidly 
broken into minute particles by efflorescence of the sulphuret 
of iron, generally predominant in this coal. Its vegetation, as 
far as can be seen, is intermediate between No. 1B and No. 8d 
coal, the number of predominating species being from the genera 
Asterophyllites, Annularia, and especially Calamites. 
Coal No. 8 is variable in thickness, and is not as generally and 
as uniformly formed as No. 1B. Wherever it has been seen 
TR ae 
