234 



Scientific Geology. 



in Woodward's Catalogue, 1830 ; which species is figured in Man- 

 tell's Geology of Sussex." 



This Fucoides varies in size from one tenth of an inch to an inch 

 in diameter. More commonly it runs through the rock in a direction 

 corresponding to that of the lamina? ; in which case it is considerably 

 flattened. Sometimes it passes obliquely through the layers, and 

 very commonly crosses them at right angles ; in which last case it has 

 a cylindrical form. It is rare to see a specimen of any considerable 

 length, that is not more or less curved ; and I have never met with 

 one that was branched at all. I have noticed specimens a foot or 

 more in length, and they may be much longer than this, since I have 

 not met with any large mass of rock containing them. The sand- 

 stone in which they are found is rather fine and quite soft, and easily 

 disintegrates. They occur near Hoyt's quarries, one mile west of 

 the village of Deerfield ; and also a few rods south of the county jail 

 in Greenfield, close by the stage road. 



The vegetable matter in these remains is wholly replaced by sand- 

 stone. By breaking the specimens transversely, a curious structure 

 is revealed. It may be described, by saying that the cylinder is made 

 up of convex layers of sandstone, piled upon one another : and I ob- 

 serve that in the same rock all the specimens have the convex side 

 of these layers in the same direction ; so that on one side of the 

 rock you will see numerous button-like protuberances, and on the 

 other side corresponding concavities. (No. 258.) But I do not know 

 which side is uppermost in the rock in situ. Nor am I familiar 

 enough, either with living or fossil agamous plants, to know whether 

 there is any thing remarkable in this structure. 



Plate XIII. figs. 38 and 39 are sketches of two specimens of 

 this Fucoides. 



Fossil Trunk of a Tree. 



I saw this interesting relic several years ago, in Dr. Smith's col- 

 lection in Southbury, Ct. It was obtained in that place in the sand- 

 stone formation extending from Woodbury to the Housatonic ; which, 

 although separated topographically from the new red sandstone of 

 the Connecticut valley, appears to possess precisely the same char- 

 acters. The specimen to which I refer was cylindrical, eight or ten 

 inches in diameter, highly siliceous, and exhibited the bark very dis- 

 tinctly ; which, if I do not misrecollect, was carbonaceous. It was 

 discovered in a swamp, and a laborer, mistaking it for a stump of a 



