NOTES AND QUERIES. 



209 



this oak tree, whicli measured sixteen feet six inches in circumference, and eight- 

 teen feet in length, was raised and laid on the quay. It is conjectured that it 

 must have weighed at least fifteen tons. A tree of such dimensions, for this must 

 be considered but a portion of the length of the stem, must lead us back to a very 

 early period, and certain it is, from the appearance of decay, that it must have been 

 many centuries in its last position, and that before it bowed its lofty head, it must 

 have been of at least 400 or 500 years' growth. The surface of the side on 

 which it reposed was covered with a metallic deposit of iron-pyrites, 

 which, with another scaly covering of pyrites, formed a kind of gallery, in some 

 parts a half to one and a half inches apart, having in many places the intermediate 

 space filled up with beautiful crystals of pyrites of miuute size, like fine needles. 

 It appears clear that this tree must have fallen and remained in the position in 

 which it was found, for below it, and embedded with it, were quantities of small 

 pieces of branches and hazel-nuts, most of which were perforated at the top, and 

 empty. The wood or bark, beneath the pyrites, appeared to the extent of three 

 quarters of an inch completely charred, and, for three or four inches further, the 

 wood, although it had not changed its colour (the laminae being quite distinct), 

 was yet quite decayed ; after this part was removed, the rest was found to be quite 

 sound. The magistrates directed this monument of so early a stage in the history of 

 that part of the country to be preserved, and, having had it cut up, a part was 

 forwarded to the Coal ExdairKje in London, then being erected in Lower Thames 

 Street ; and it now forms the dark part of the ornamental centre of the floor of 

 that building. 



J. JAMESON. 



38 Arlington-square, April, 1848. 



The is. H. H. Ai)veutiseme>;t. — 10 St. Vincent'sParade, Clifton, near Bristol, 

 23 March, 1858. — Sir, — Your account for an advertisement in the February 

 number of the Gkologist, did not reach me till the last delivery on Saturday, 

 the address being omitted. This was the first intimation I received of the inser- 

 tion of the advertisement, and I instantly sent to the post-office to enquire if 

 there were any letters for S. S. H. I find there have been many ; but they have 

 been sent to the Dead Letter Office, as they were not claimed. To those who have 

 answered the advertisement, the return of the letters must have been very annoying, 

 and they will suspect a trick has been played upon them. I have been confined to 

 my house, by ill health, for nine weeks, and have not seen the Geologist ; and as 

 I received no reply to my note, I supposed both the note and the advertisement to 

 have been thrown aside. Some explanation must now be given, and I think it will 

 be necessary to re-insert the advertisement, with the notice enclosed, in your next 

 number. The Editor will decide whether it is desirable to give any explanation in 

 his ' Notices to Correspondents.' lam, Sir, your obedient servant, Wm. Higgins.'' 

 — We received the above note from the late proprietor, Mr. Parsons, of Kenilworth, 

 after going to press with our last number. 



On Seeds as a source of Bitdmen. By Mr. G. Wilson, of Wakefield. — Many 

 have been struck with the thickness of some of our modern peat-bogs, and have 

 hence regarded them as incipient coal-beds. Be this as it may, it is difficult to 

 account for the quantity of bitumen in these deposits, and I offer the suggestion 

 that the seeds of the plants growing in such places, may be one of the sources 

 of its production. How far the seeds of the ling or of the heaths may con- 

 duce to its supply in some peats has never been properly tested, but as peat contains 

 mineral oil — Irom which, of late years, candles have been manufactured — and as 

 all seeds contain more or less oily matter, might it not be worth considering 

 whether any evidence exists in our heaths, peat-bogs, or coal-seams, of the 

 derivation of any portion of the bituminous matter from such a source ? 



Fossil Sponges, Clinometer, &c, — <^iko'Qrir'qT'r]%, Manchester. — " Sir, — I am 

 glad to find a source of information open in your ' Notes and Queries,' to which 

 I at once resorc. I should be glad of information on the following questions : — 

 1. Have any sponges been found in the fossil state ? I ask this because I have 

 a specimen which was found among the debris of mountain-limestone in 

 Swaledale which I can assign to no other class than sponge. Yet in looking 



