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H. HICKS ON THE REMAINS OF PLANTS EROM THE 



37. On the Discovery of some Remains of Plants at the Base of the 

 Denbighshire Grits, near Corwen, North Wales. By Henry 

 Hicks, Esq., M.D., E.G.S. Withan Appendix by R. Etheridge, 

 Esq., E.R.S., Pres. Geol. Soc. (Read May 25, 1881.) 



[Plate XXV.] 



In August 1875, when searching for fossils in the Pen-y-Glog 

 slate-quarry, which is situated about two miles to the east of Corwen, 

 I noticed some carbonaceous-looking fragments and markings on the 

 shales in association with the massive grit beds towards the top of 

 the quarry, which I thought at the time might possibly be plant- 

 remains. Last summer I had another favourable opportunity of 

 examining these beds ; and I was fortunate enough to discover 

 undoubted plant-remains scattered very abundantly over their 

 surfaces. I submitted these for further examination to Mr. 

 Carruthers, of the British Museum, and had the satisfaction to 

 find that he entirely confirmed my views as to their nature. He 

 said they were undoubtedly " angular fragments of plants," but that 

 the specimens were not in a sufiiciently satisfactory condition to 

 determine the actual plants to which they belonged. I decided, 

 therefore, not to bring the matter before the Society until I had 

 another opportunity of visiting the quarry and of endeavouring to 

 procure more perfect specimens. This I was able to do lately ; 

 and the additional materials now found have proved to exhibit 

 structures sufiiciently well marked to enable a very clear identifica- 

 tion of several distinct plants to be made out. The specimens have 

 been generally examined by Mr. Carruthers, and some specially 

 by Mr. Etheridge and Mr. Newton, of the Jermyn- Street Museum. 

 Amongst them have been found numerous small spherical bodies 

 identical in general appearance, and in internal structure, with the 

 Pachytheca described by Sir J. D. Hooker, from the bone-bed at 

 the top of the Ludlow series. These are supposed to be the remains 

 of spore-cases of land plants belonging to the order Lycopodiaceae ; 

 other specimens are supposed by Mr. Carruthers to be the micro- 

 spores, and others to be fragments of the stems of the same plants. 

 Some of the specimens would indicate the presence also of plants 

 belonging to the genus Psilophyton. These, though tolerably abun- 

 dant, occur chiefly as carbonaceous markings, and show little evi- 

 dence of structure. The combined results are sufficient to make 

 it clear that we have here a terrestrial flora of a tolerably high 

 order. The majority of the fragments, however, belong to a curious 

 plant not hitherto found in Great Britain. It was first discovered 

 by Sir W. Logan in the Devonian rocks, in the peninsula of Gaspe, 

 Lower Canada, and described by Dr. Dawson, of Montreal, in the 

 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. for 1859, under the name Prototaxites. 

 Dr. Dawson described it as a land plant of large size, belonging 



