120 ME. E. A. NEWELL ARBER ON THE UPPER [Feb. I907, 



so wide a distribution throughout the whole of the Upper Carbo- 

 niferous sequence in Devon. This new fact has modified the view 

 then expressed. The wide occurrence of this fauna, on prac- 

 tically the same level as the Middle Coal Measure plant-remains, 

 shows that its presence, in itself, cannot be regarded as indicative 

 of a Lower Coal Measure horizon. Thus, in the absence of any 

 nora from the Instow beds, their precise horizon must remain 

 doubtful, and at present there is no real palaeontological 

 •evidence to show that the Lower Coal Measures are 

 represented in either Devon or Cornwall. 



Before passing on to discuss the plant-petrifactions, I may briefly 

 notice one or two collections of plants from the Upper Carboni- 

 ferous rocks of Devon, which were not referred to in my previous 

 paper. 1 



One of the earliest collectors of fossils in Devon was the late 

 Lieut.-Col. William Harding, of Upcott, Pilton, who is mentioned 

 Doth by Sedgwick & Murchison 2 and by De la Beche. 3 His 

 collection is now in the Athenaeum Museum, Plymouth. Most of 

 the specimens are, unfortunately, without record of the localities 

 whence 1 they were derived. A few are labelled ' N. Devon,' 

 including Catamites from Moor Park, and Mariopteris muricata 

 {Schl.), also from near Bideford. These, and possibly a few others, 

 were no doubt obtained from the Upper Carboniferous rocks of 

 Devon ; but many examples, without labels, are typical Upper 

 Coal Measure species, most of which, in all probability, came 

 from the Somerset Coalfield. The Somerset rocks are very charac- 

 teristic, and in many cases unmistakable. Certainly no such 

 shales (quite apart from the contained organisms) are to be found 

 in Devon. I have made some efforts to obtain fuller information 

 as to this collection, but it was formed so long ago that, at this 

 date, it appears to be impossible to trace the localities whence the 

 specimens were derived. 



Since my previous paper on the Bideford plant-remains was 

 completed, the collection of the late William Vicar) 7 has been 

 bequeathed to the Geological Department of the British Museum 

 (Natural History). 4 It contains a few poorly preserved plants, 

 especially Calamites, Alethopteris lonchitica (Schl.), Lepidodendron, 

 and Stigmaria Jtcoides (Sternb.), from the Upper Carboniferous of 

 Devon and Cornwall, but the localities from which the specimens 

 were obtained are uncertain. I may add that the specimens 

 from Mr. Rogers's collection, figured and described in my paper 

 published in 1904, are now also in the Geological Department of 

 the British Museum (Natural History). 



1 Arber (04) p. 300. 



2 Sedgwick & Murchison (40) pp. (>48, 682, &c. 



3 De la Beche (39) pp. 50, 117, &c. 



4 Kegistered Nos. V 9765- V 9783. 



