74 Nature protected 
about one to three feet, are fixed 
by long forking roots'* in a bed of 
shale. Here and there, the spread- 
ing roots,'' which bear the surface 
features of Stigmaria, extend for a 
distance of more than ten feet. In 
one place, a flattened Lepidodendron 
stem, about thirty feet long, lies prone 
on the shale. Near one of the trees 
and at a somewhat higher level than 
its base, the surface of the rock is 
clearly ripple-marked, and takes us 
back to the time when the sinking 
forest trees were washed by waves 
which left an impress in the soft mud 
laid down over the submerged area\ 
Over this relic of ancient times, a hall 
has been erected, for protecting these 
interesting objects against the influence 
of the weather. If I am right, this 
^ Seward, A. C. Fossil Plants for students of 
botany and geology. With illustrations, Vol. i., 
Cambridge, 1898, p. 57. 
