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290 Scientific Intelligence. 
II. GEOLOGY. 
1. On Prof. J. W. Dawson's papers on the Coal.—Prof. J. W. Dawsoy, 
LL. D., of MeGill College, Canada West, has lately published in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Geological Society of London two very interesting me- 
moirs :—one concerning the vegetable structure in coal ;* the other ona 
terrestrial mollusk, a Myriapod and some new species of reptiles from 
' Nova Scotia. 
two different ways. In the shales and the sandstones the outline of the 
vegetable is marked just as it would be on the stone by the pencil of a 
lithographer; but no trace of internal structure is preserved ; and as 
remains are mostly broken parts of stems and of leaves, crushed cones, 
scales or blades, nutlets and. prints of various forms left on the bark of 
some trees at the point of attachment of the leaves, it is nearly impossible 
to determine with precision the species to which such fragments belong, 
or at least to get any indication about their mode of vegetation and 
their relation to plants now living. sits 
In the coal on the contrary we find a few remains of internal organism, 
chiefly vessels of various appearances. But in the compact, homogeneous 
matter of the coal, every trace of external structure of the plants having 
i ared, these isolated vessels can not, in any way, indicate the form 
is perfectly well answered by himself in a note from a former pape where 
ays: L have little confidence in the establishment of genera or ~ 
fossil wood can not indicate genera and species by their internal organi- 
zation, @ fortiori, neither can isolated vessels do it. The second q 
beds in the same coal-fields, does not appear to be satisfactorily 4 net 
Suppose we admit Liebig’s theory, that coal results from the submersion 
thin laminz of mineral chareodh 
* Vol. xy, 626. 
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