THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 



At the Washington meeting of the Botanical Society of 

 America, the following papers constituting a symposium 

 on Modern Aspects of Paleobotany were read by invita- 

 tion of the council, on December 28th. 



I. "The Relations of Paleobotany to Geology." 



F. H. Knowlton. 



II. "The Relations of Paleobotany to Botany." 



1. "Phylogeny and Taxonomy." John M. Coulteb. 



2. "Morphology." Edward C. Jeffrey. 



3. "Ecology." Arthur Hollick. 



In accordance with the instructions of the Society these 

 papers are here printed in full. 



George T. Moore, 

 Secretary 



MODERN ASPECTS OF PALEOBOTANY 

 I. The Relations of Paleobotany to Geology 

 DR. F. H. KNOWLTON 

 United States Geological Survey 



Although there is vague mention of fossil plants in 

 literature as early as the thirteenth century, and unscien- 

 tific adumbrations in the faintly growing twilight of the 

 succeeding centuries, the real science of paleobotany did 

 not have its beginning until well on in the nineteenth cen- 

 tury. With the publication, in 1828, of Brongmart's 

 "Histoire des vegetaux fossiles" and the "Prodrome, 

 there was given to paleobotany "that powerful impetus 

 which found its immediate recognition and called into its 

 service a large corps of colaborers with Brongniart, rap- 

 idly multiplving its literature and increasing the amount 

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