Geology. 335 



fossil woods. The method is expository rather than critical and 

 the space is well adjusted to the importance of the subjects re- 

 viewed. The literature is referred to by numbers and the titles 

 are collected together in an alphabetical list, but unfortunately 

 in a separate part of the volume (pp. 98-103) — a serious defect 

 in the book-making, but for which our author is not responsible. 

 The most important works that appeared during the year 1890 

 were Professor Fontaine's Flora of the Potomac Formation, 

 Renault and Zeiller's Coal Flora of Commentry, Saporta's 

 Jurassic Flora (completed in this year), the Paleophytology of 

 Zittel's Handbuch, brought to a conclusion by Schenk, and 

 Zeiller's Fossil Flora of the Carboniferous and Permian basin of 

 Autun and Epinac. Among the leading discoveries of the year 

 may be noted : that by Renault of the large petioles called Myel- 

 oxylon in direct relation with the ferns Alethopteris and Neu- 

 ropteris ; that by Williamson of secondary wood in certain ferns ; 

 that by Renault of a true Equisetum in the Carboniferous; that 

 by Marion in the Permian of Lodeve of peculiar strobiles (Gom- 

 phostrobus) which seem to form a connecting link between 

 Walchia and Ginkgo; that by Saporta of dicotyledonous plants 

 in the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal ; and that by Dawson and 

 Penhallow of a Rhizocarp (Azolkephyllum primozmim) allied to 

 Azolla, in the Tertiary of British Columbia. l. f. w. 



9. Sylloge Fungoriun Fossilium hucusque coynitomm. Auc- 

 tore A. Meschinelhi. Patavii, 1892. — This is an octavo pam- 

 phlet of 73 pages and will form part of the tenth volume o 

 Saccardo's great Sylloge Fungoinm so well known to botanists. 

 It was well, and in line with modern methods, that Saccardo 

 should include the fossil forms in his description of all the fungi 

 known to botany, and this part could not have been intrusted to 

 any one more competent than Professor Meschinelli. According 

 to this enumeration there are now known to science 329 species 

 of fossil fungi, which are assigned to 41 genera. Most of these 

 latter are named from their resemblance to living genera by add- 

 ing to the generic name the termination -ites. The largest genus 

 is Sphasrites with 100 species, which is followed by Xylomites 

 with 56, Rhytismites with 23, Phacidites with 18, Depazites and 

 Hysterites with 16 each, Phyllerites with 15, and Sclerotites with 

 13. Most of these occur as spots on dicotyledonous leaves, 

 chiefly in the Tertiary. The genera Archagaricon, Peronospor- 

 ites, Protomycites, Excipulites, and some of the species of other 

 genera, are from the Carboniferous, and there are a few Mesozoic 

 forms. The Folyporites Bowmani of Lindley and Hutton from 

 the coal measures of Denbigshire, long regarded as the scale of a 

 fish, is included, as is the Gyromyces Ammonis of Goppert, which 

 most other authors treat as a shell, and which has been otherwise 

 named Spirorbis carbonarii; but in such doubtful cases atten- 

 tion is called to the conflicting views. The plan of the work 

 embraces pretty full references to the literature of each s]3ecies, 

 a very brief character, and a statement of the habitat, which 



