WarD.] THE VIRGINIA AREA, 257 
10 cm. long, 5 em. broad at the summit, consisting of 3 to 5 secondary 
divisions proceeding alternately from each side of the rachis at a 
uniform angle of about 30°, these again throwing off tertiary branches 
chiefly from the other side, some of which still further fork or ramify, 
forming a spreading fan-shaped mat of overlapping fibers covering 
the rock. The surface of: the rock is very uneven, the fronds form- 
ing reliefs, and each branch, strand, or subdivision constituting a smooth 
raised ridge or line. The counterparts of the fronds of course present 
the opposite features, the reliefs becoming intaglios. 
This is not the place to enter into a discussion of the question 
whether Dendrophycus really represents a plant. I will only say that 
Professor Fontaine, who has not only seen all the Seneca and Port- 
land specimens but has visited the locality and examined their mode of 
occurrence, does not, any more than did Dr. Newberry, hesitate to 
pronounce them as of vegetable nature. I reserve my own opinion, if 
I can be said to have one, until more and stronger evidence shall be 
produced. : 
THE VIRGINIA AREA. 
Fossil plants were early discovered in the rich beds of the Richmond 
coal field, and mention of them was from time to time made by geolo- 
gists and other . riters near the beginning of the century. 
Among the earliest of these mentions was that of Mr. William 
Maclure, in 1817." After having discussed the primitive formations 
of the more northern sections, he proceeds to speak of-— 
‘‘A range of secondary, extending with some intervals, from the Connecticut to 
the Rappahannock rivers, in width generally from 15 to 25 miles; bounded on 
the northeast, at New Haven, by the sea, where it ends to recommence on the 
south side of Hudson River. * * * This secondary formation is interrupted after it 
passes Frederickstown, but begins again between Monocacy and Seneca creeks, the 
northeastern boundaries crossing the Potomac by the west of Cartersville, touches 
the primitive near the Rappahannock, where it finishes. * * * About 10 or 12 
miles west of Richmond, Virginia, there isan independent coal formation, 20 to 25 
miles long, and about 10 miles wide; it would not be far distant from the range of 
the red sandstone formation had it continued so far south; it is situated in an oblong 
basin, having the whitish freestone, slaty clay, etc., with vegetable impressions, as 
well as most of the other attendants of that formation.”’ 
This last hint is of special interest in view of the fact that all the 
more northern deposits are of the red or brown sandstone, while that 
of the Virginia basin, in the vicinity of Richmond, is a true coal 
formation, and Mr. Maclure must therefore have derived this infor- 
mation largely from paleontological data. 
In 1821 we find Mr. Thomas Nuttall’ discoursing learnedly with 
1Observations on the Geology of the United States of America, by William Maclure, Philadelphia, 
1817. (See pp. 39-49.) 
2Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., Vol. II, Pt. J, pp. 35-38, 
20 GEOL, PT 2 17 
