46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ing glimpses of the vegetation of a former world would be' fre- 

 quently seen, if, instead of working in the dark and cutting down 

 the edges of the strata, we could remove at once the upper cover- 

 ing, as at Parkfield, and expose to the day the face of coal on which 

 the ancient forests grew. 



4. Some Account of a Fossil Tree found in the Coal Grit near 

 Darlaston, South Staffordshire. By John S. Dawes, Esq. 

 F.G.S. 



Within the last few days (Jan. 1844), an exceedingly well-preserved 

 and extraordinary specimen of a fossil tree has been discovered in 

 a stone quarry near the town of Darlaston. The rock, which 

 also contains Calamites and other drifted coal fossils, is the White 

 Grit, which overlies the thin carboniferous measures, on the north- 

 eastern side of the South Staffordshire coal field ; the fossil, 39 feet 

 in length, lies in the ripple-marked stone, at a depth of 16 yards 

 from the surface, the nearest bed of coal being ten yards below it. 

 The root end is towards the deep, and in a westerly direction. 

 Its angle of inclination is about 6°, which also corresponds with 

 the dip of the strata ; distinct traces of four branches may be ob- 

 served upon the stem, three of which, when it was found, were 

 still attached, and apparently in the position in which they grew, 

 but one of them was moved aside from its original direction. 

 They extended in length from 6 to 8 or 9 feet, having a diameter 

 varying from 6 to about 4 inches, and the upper one yet re- 

 mains attached, and shows a remarkable uniformity in its thick- 

 ness. The others were in part broken to pieces, and some of them 

 lost before I was aware of the specimen being in the quarry ; but 

 I understand that each appeared to terminate abruptly, having a 

 small portion of coaly matter adhering to the end. There is also 

 some appearance of a fifth branch projecting in a contrary di- 

 rection, but possibly this may belong to another specimen, still 

 imbedded lower in the quarry. The following are the dimensions 

 as nearly as can be ascertained while it remains in situ : — diameters 

 of stem, at the lowest part, 14 inches and 6 inches ; distance to the 

 first branch 11 feet 6 inches ; diameters at this point 16 inches and 

 6 inches ; distance from this to the second branch 5 feet 6 inches ; 

 diameters 18 inches and 6 inches; distance to third knot 7 feet; 

 diameters 16 inches and 12 inches ; distance again to the upper 

 branch 6 feet 6 inches; diameters 17 inches and 10 inches.- From 

 this part to the top, the distance is 8 feet 6 inches, where the 

 breadth is suddenly contracted to less than 8 inches, and imme- 

 diately beyond the fossil is converted into a thin narrow layer of 

 coal, showing in a remarkable manner a gradual change from the 

 stony mineral into that substance. This upper part, which has been 

 traced about 18 inches further, still continues to penetrate the 

 solid rock, and the lower end has been uncovered to the further 



