﻿76 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  tion 
  previous 
  authors 
  more 
  often 
  misidentified 
  their 
  specimens. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  Vermejo 
  flora, 
  but 
  4 
  species 
  continued 
  to 
  live 
  in 
  Raton 
  

   time, 
  and 
  12 
  of 
  its 
  genera 
  here 
  fail 
  of 
  representation. 
  Not 
  only 
  

   this, 
  but 
  the 
  former 
  flora 
  is 
  strikingly 
  different 
  in 
  composition. 
  

   In 
  the 
  Raton, 
  the 
  palms 
  are 
  abundant, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  rare 
  in 
  the 
  

   Vermejo, 
  while 
  the 
  conifers, 
  common 
  in 
  genera 
  and 
  species 
  in 
  

   the 
  latter 
  formation, 
  are 
  unrepresented 
  in 
  the 
  former. 
  The 
  

   plantains, 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  Raton, 
  are 
  doubtfully 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  

   Vermejo, 
  while 
  the 
  magnolias, 
  exceedingly 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  former 
  

   flora, 
  are 
  absent 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  one. 
  Accordingly, 
  Knowlton 
  con- 
  

   cludes 
  that 
  the 
  Vermejo 
  flora 
  "is 
  distinctly 
  Montana 
  in 
  aspect' 
  ' 
  

   and 
  "distinctly 
  different" 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  younger 
  Laramie 
  

   one. 
  Compared 
  with 
  the 
  Raton 
  flora, 
  he 
  says 
  "there 
  is 
  no 
  real 
  

   relationship 
  between 
  them." 
  

  

  The 
  Raton 
  flora 
  has 
  its 
  closest 
  affinity 
  with 
  the 
  Denver 
  flora, 
  

   which 
  also 
  lies 
  above 
  the 
  unconformity, 
  there 
  being 
  34 
  species 
  

   in 
  common. 
  "Put 
  in 
  another 
  way 
  it 
  means 
  that 
  43 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  

   the 
  Raton 
  flora 
  having 
  an 
  outside 
  distribution 
  is 
  found 
  also 
  

   in 
  the 
  Denver 
  : 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  total 
  published 
  Denver 
  flora 
  embraces 
  

   98 
  species, 
  it 
  follows 
  that 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  third 
  of 
  these 
  occur 
  in 
  

   the 
  Raton 
  formation. 
  ' 
  ' 
  With 
  the 
  Wilcox 
  formation 
  of 
  the 
  Atlan- 
  

   tic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  Eocene 
  (a 
  strand 
  flora 
  that 
  has 
  330 
  known 
  forms), 
  

   there 
  are 
  29 
  species 
  in 
  common, 
  while 
  38 
  "are 
  either 
  identical 
  

   with 
  or 
  very 
  closely 
  related 
  to 
  Wilcox 
  species." 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  "of 
  the 
  80 
  Wilcox 
  species 
  having 
  outside 
  distribution 
  

   about 
  45 
  are 
  common 
  to 
  the 
  Raton, 
  Denver, 
  or 
  Fort 
  Union, 
  and 
  

   not 
  one 
  is 
  known 
  from 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  anywhere. 
  ' 
  ' 
  Accordingly 
  

   Knowlton 
  correlates 
  the 
  Raton 
  with 
  the 
  Wilcox, 
  while 
  E. 
  W. 
  

   Berry 
  regards 
  it 
  as 
  "of 
  Eocene 
  age 
  and 
  slightly 
  older 
  than 
  the 
  

   Wilcox." 
  To 
  refresh 
  the 
  reader's 
  memory, 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  said 
  

   that 
  the 
  Wilcox 
  is 
  underlain 
  by 
  the 
  Midway 
  formation 
  and 
  over- 
  

   lain 
  by 
  the 
  Claiborne 
  near 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  Eocene. 
  Finally 
  

   Knowlton 
  concludes 
  that 
  the 
  Raton, 
  Arapahoe, 
  Denver, 
  and 
  Daw- 
  

   son 
  "are 
  Tertiary 
  (Eocene) 
  in 
  age." 
  The 
  climate 
  of 
  the 
  Raton 
  

   flora 
  with 
  its 
  figs, 
  cinnamons, 
  breadfruit 
  trees, 
  magnolias, 
  and 
  

   sweet-gums, 
  "was 
  at 
  least 
  warm 
  temperate 
  [and 
  moist], 
  per- 
  

   haps 
  not 
  unlike 
  that 
  now 
  prevailing 
  in 
  South 
  Carolina 
  and 
  

   Georgia. 
  In 
  fact, 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  evidence 
  that 
  the 
  physical 
  and 
  

   climatic 
  conditions 
  had 
  changed 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  Vermejo 
  time." 
  

  

  To 
  emphasize 
  the 
  importance 
  of 
  the 
  unconformity 
  in 
  the 
  Rocky 
  

   Mountains 
  between 
  the 
  Mesozoic 
  and 
  Tertiary 
  formations, 
  Knowl- 
  

   ton 
  slates 
  : 
  A 
  restudy 
  of 
  these 
  floras 
  shows 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  about 
  

   350 
  known 
  species 
  of 
  plants 
  in 
  the 
  higher 
  Cretaceous, 
  while 
  in 
  

   the 
  succeeding 
  Eocene 
  floras 
  there 
  are 
  more 
  than 
  700 
  known 
  

   forms. 
  ' 
  ' 
  Of 
  all 
  these 
  species, 
  he 
  says 
  but 
  ' 
  ' 
  about 
  21 
  or 
  22 
  species 
  

   are 
  known 
  to 
  cross 
  1lie 
  line 
  of 
  this 
  unconformity 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   whole 
  areal 
  extent, 
  from 
  New 
  Mexico 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  to 
  the 
  

   Canadian 
  border 
  on 
  the 
  north." 
  

  

  