"Whe^ in London, last spring, Prof. Huxlej was kind enough 

 to show me some remarkably beautiful slices of coal mounted 

 by his assistant, Mr. Newton, and showing with great distinct- 

 ness multitudes of spo]'e-cases and spores, some of them very 

 well preserved. He farther stated to me his belief that sueli 

 material had been largely or mainly instrumental in the pro- 

 duction of Coal. At the time I declined to accept this conclu- 

 sion, on the ground that the specimens probably represented 

 layers of coal exceptionally rich in spore-cases ; and that even 

 in these specimens a large quantity of matter was present which 

 long experience in the examination of coals enabled me to recog- 

 nize as cortical or epidermal matter, which I had previously 

 shown by my examination of the coals of Nova Scotia to be 

 the principal ingredient in ordinary coal. I promised, how- 

 ever, on my return to Canada, to look over my series of pre- 

 parations of coal, with a view to the occurrence of spore-cases, 

 and also to make trial of the somewhat improved method ot 

 preparation employed by Mr. Newton. On my return I ga^^ 

 the results of my examination to Prof Huxley, in a letter which 



quoted in the brilliant exposition of his obsen^ations 



and conclusions in the Contemporary review for November, 

 and wliich will probably give a tone to the representations ot 

 popular writers on this subject for some time. While, however, 

 admitting the great interest and importance of Prof Hux e}^^ 

 obsei-vations, and prepared to contribute some additional lilusj 

 trations of the occurrence of spore-cases in coal, I think it v.e 

 to direct attention anew to the actual composition of the su - 

 stance, as proved by its mode of occurrence, and illustrated \^ 

 my own extensive series of observations on the coals ot ^o^- 

 Scotia and Cape Breton, including the series of eighty-one sean ^ 

 exposed at the South Joggins, the whole of which I have e^a 

 ined in situ and under the microscope. . | 



The occurrence of bodies supposed to be spore-cases m c c • 

 is, as Prof Huxley states, no new discovery; but ^^ ^'^^^^^. 

 these may be said to be the first organisms recognized t)} ^ 

 microscopic observer of coal— that is, if all the clear spots 

 annular bodies seen in slices of coal are really spore-ca ^j 

 They were noticed by Morris as early as 1836, and thev ji^^ 

 been observed and described long before by Fleming^ m ^^ 

 land. Goeppert mentioned and figured them in his 1 rem 

 Coal" in 1848. Balfour described them in 1869 as occurnn^^^ 

 Scottish coals, and Quekett figured them in his account o ^ 

 * In the quotation the word "cubical" has been substituted for 'cortical- 



