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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLII 



the case of the marsupial mammalia, and others such as 

 the recently elucidated one of the Chrysochloridae, or 

 golden moles. 



On the other hand, it was pointed out that there were 

 other leaves resembling those of the Proteacese. In 1870 

 Bentham went so far as to say, in regard to detached 

 leaves, "I do not know of a single one which, in outline 

 or venation, is exclusively characteristic of the order, or 

 of any one of the genera." Quite recently Dr. Schonland 

 (Trans. S. African Phil. Soc, 1907, p. 321) has written: 

 "The supposed identifications of southern types of plants 

 in the Tertiary deposits of the Northern Hemisphere are 

 considered by most eminent botanists, such as Sir Jos. 

 Hooker, the late Mr. G. Bentham, A. Schenk, etc., as 

 worthless. Laurent has recently tried again to prove 

 that the Proteaceae originated in the North, but the evi- 

 dence on which he relies seems to be altogether untrust- 

 worthy." Without having seen the European fossils, 

 it may be hazardous to attempt any contribution to this 

 controversy; but it must be pointed out that those who 

 regard the paleontological evidence with contempt seem 

 to have forgotten one or two things. They have not 

 sufficiently remembered the great antiquity of the genera 

 of flowering plants, as shown by indisputable evidence ; 

 they have failed to consider the great lapse of time, which 

 would permit migrations from one end of the world to the 

 other (continuous land provided), even at the slowest 

 rate; and more especially, they seem to have forgotten 

 the unquestioned cases of Sequoia, Comptonia, Liquid- 

 ambar, etc., in which wide-spread types have been reduced 

 to comparatively small areas within quite recent geolog- 

 ical times. It may also be added, that they have over- 

 looked the analogous cases among animals, which can by 

 no means be explained away. With all this, it must be 

 confessed that the dicta of paleobotany are not so reli- 

 able as we could wish, and that an attitude of scepticism 

 is often more than justified. 



Lesquereux believed that he could recognize a consider- 

 able series (8 species) of Proteacea- in the Florissant 



