196 
Geology of Sydney. 
flattened and converted into true coal — and indeed 
every grade between tree-stems and coal lias been 
met with. Lastly, under every extensive bed of 
coal an “ under-clay” is found, which is really the old 
soil on which the vegetation grew. 
A student will not spend many hours about a coal- 
mine before lie finds some plants, although coal-mines 
differ much in the relative abundance of the plants 
preserved as fossils. In a bed of clay-stone at the base 
of Nobby’s, Newcastle, Glossopteris can be seen on every 
slab. The rocks above and below the kerosene shale 
are usually rich in fossil plants. A coal-mine near 
Castlecomer, Ireland, had some unique examples that 
would gladden the heart of the most stoical geologist. 
On a hard band forming a floor a number of reptiles 
were displayed in great perfection. The roof imme- 
diately above was a tangled mass of Lepidodendron, 
ferns, leaves, and stems. The museums of the world 
could be stocked from this one gallery of an obscure 
coal-mine, and the work of plunder could be continued 
for years to come. The present writer’s recollections 
of that mine is a lasting reminder that the pictures 
painted by the cunning hand of Hugh Miller are not 
overdrawn. We do not expect to find such rare 
examples in every mine, but that they do occur is 
certain. Buckland’s description of a coal-mine is 
worth quoting ; — 
“The most elaborate imitations of living foliage 
upon the painted ceilings of Italian palaces bear no 
comparison with the beauteous profusion with which 
