234 
To future discoveries must also be left the ascertaining of the ori- 
ginal nature of the other fossils which reniain to be noticed in this 
letter. The first of these, Plate XIII. Fig. 80, claims its admission, 
merely from the floriform figure which it assumes, like the lily encri- 
nite, from the closing of its arms. From the base of this body a 
neck proceeds, which soon terminates in four arms or claws, in a con- 
tracted state. In other bodies, apparently of a similar species, the 
number of the claws varies from two to even five. There exists no 
mark in these bodies to determine whether, in their original state, they 
were attached to vertebral columns, or were occasionally attached to 
some foreign bodies. These specimens, as well as the former, are cal- 
careous, and were also obtained from the mountains of Switzerland. 
This petrifaction is figured by Mons. Bourguet, who describes it 
as the hexagonal flower of a coralloid (fleur Jiexagone d’un coralloide.*) 
An examination of the figure of this fossil, which is here given, will 
sufficiently show that it partakes more of the nature of the encrinus 
than of the coral ; a remark which has been already made by Mons. 
Davila'f' and by Mr. Walch. The latter gentleman appears only to 
have seen it figured by Bourguet, from which representation of it he is 
unable to determine whether it is jointed or not ; and he observes that it 
is an extremely rare fossil.;^ 
The ramifying fossil body. Fig. 81, has somewhat of the appear- 
ance of the former fossil in an expanded state. Some of these fossils 
have three, four, and even more branches, expanding in a similar 
manner. Mons. Davila considers these as, vertehres noueuses diffe- 
rentes des ^ntroques et qui semblent appartenir aux rayons du sommet de 
rStoile ; and in another place he calls them, des petites articulations 
brarickSs des sommets. Mr. Walch acknowledges that he cannot with 
certainty say to what substance they belong. When viewed with 
* Trait6 des Petri fications, Tab. XIII Fig. 70, 71. 
t Catalogue systematique et raisonne, Tom. III. p. 194, No. 242. 
X Monumens des Catastrophes, &c. Tom. II. p. 104. 
