(5i) 



the ferns and the sago-palms, but more closely related to 

 the latter than to the ferns. 



Floor- and wall-cases No. 4 are devoted to specimens of 

 Carboniferous plants in the genera Lepidodendron, Sigil- 

 laria and Stigmaria, in order to show the variation in the 

 arrangement and shape of the leaf scars and the difference 

 between specimens with the bark preserved and those 

 which have been decorticated. 



Floor-case No. 5 contains types of early Mesozoic time: 

 Triassic and Jurassic Periods. The plant remains in this 

 case are mostly sago-palms or cycads, with a few cone- 

 bearers and fern-plants, besides specimens of the so-called 

 u Gloss o-pter is flora," a flora of uncertain botanical relation- 

 ship, which flourished in the transition period between 

 Paleozoic and Mesozoic time, particularly in the southern 

 hemisphere, and may yet be represented by the living 

 South African genus Stangeria, a cycad having leaves with 

 pinnately arranged forking veins, similar to ferns. 



Floor-case No. 6 encloses plant remains from the rocks 

 of later Mesozoic time: Lower and Middle Cretaceous 

 Period. These specimens represent the first appearance 

 of the higher-seed-bearing plants (Angiosperms), the type 

 which is dominant in the existing flora. The genera are 

 in most instances apparently identical with those now in 

 existence, but the species are extinct. The plants of the 

 Lower Cretaceous consist largely of ferns and cone-bearers, 

 while those of the middle Cretaceous show a preponderance 

 of angiosperms. 



Floor-case No. 7 is arranged to show specimens of the 

 Middle Cretaceous flora found within the limits of the 

 City of New York, on Staten Island, or in the immediate 

 vicinity in New Jersey and on Long Island. 



Floor-case No. 8 contains specimens from the Middle 

 Cretaceous of the western States. Those from the Dakota 

 Group are exceptionally fine, many of them being perfectly 

 preserved and showing both case and impression of the 

 same leaf as counterparts. 



