( 123) 



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. 



Floor-case No. 9 is devoted to plants of the Upper 

 Cretaceous (Laramie Group), and completes the vegetation 

 of Mesozoic time. 



Floor-cases Nos. 10 to 12 and wall-case No. 5 contain 

 plant remains of Neozoic time. Those of the early Ter- 

 tiary Period (Eocene) are displayed in floor-case No. 10. 

 Those of the later Tertiary (Miocene) and Quaternary 

 Periods in floor-cases Nos. 11 and 12. The specimens in 

 the latter case complete the sequence of plant life on the 

 earth and bring it up to modern times. A number of 

 specimens at one end of the case show the methods of 

 preservation by petrifaction, incrustation, and carboniza- 

 tion, and on the upper shelf is a series of specimens from 

 Quaternary and more recent swamp deposits which show 

 how the conversion of living plants into fossils, a process 

 now going on, has its beginning. 



The specimens in wall-case No. 5 further illustrate the 

 characteristics of the plants of the late geological periods 



