1028 
ME. PENGELLT ON THE LIGNITES AND 
Almost all the clay-beds contain fragments of lignite, which are commonly, at least 
approximately, parallel to the plane of stratification. One or two exceptions to this 
were met with, the most marked being that of the 35th bed, where they occur at all 
angles to that plane. 
Thongh when first dug the clay is not generally characterized by lamination, expo- 
sure to the atmosphere, in most cases, developes this quality. 
Fossils were found in only fifteen of the beds, namely, one of clay and four of lignite 
in the second series, and one of the former and nine of the latter in the third or lowest. 
It is only necessary to particularize the 7th, 25th, 26th, and 46th beds. 
The 7th is chiefly remarkable as being a mat composed of fragments of the coniferous 
tree Sequoia Couttsice^ Heer, and of the fern Pecopteris lignitum, Gieb. 
The 25th is that in which the so-called “ flabelliform leaves ” chiefly occur; a few were 
also met with in the 17th bed. Professor Heer has identified them as the rhizomes of 
ferns. Some of them were fully 5 feet in length, but too brittle to be got out entire. 
In most cases the large specimens have a curved outline. The lowest three inches of the 
bed is commonly a mat of fragmentary fronds of the ferns Pecopteris lignitum and 
Lastrea stiriaca, Ung., — the first being the most prevalent. Above this lie the rhizomes, 
in a continuous band about 6 inches thick. Though these bands generally preserve a 
well-marked separation, they sometimes inosculate, but never so as to show whether 
the fossils were parts of the same plant. The uppermost portion of the bed consists 
of slabs of “board coal” of great length, and of a width indicating the existence of trees 
(probably Sequoia Couttsice) fully 6 feet in diameter. Bodies occur in this bed having 
the appearance of roots, with rootlets passing into the clay below. Mr. Keeping 
reported one such “root” having a part of the stem of a tree still attached to it, the latter 
being almost perpendicular to the plane of stratification. The lignite in this stratum 
not unfrequently presents a fretted aspect, as if from some kind of corrosive action ; in 
these cases it is crossed by cracks or fissures of variable width, having rugged walls, 
and filled with yellow ochre. 
The 26th is the most important bed in the series, being rich in both the number and 
the variety of its fossils. The lowest six inches contain a large number of dicotyledonous 
leaves, most of them crushed and valueless ; occasionally, however, nests or patches of 
such leaves occur in a better condition. A few twigs of Sequoia Couttsice are also found 
in this lowest band ; whilst quite at its base are numerous branches of the same plant, 
measuring in some instances 3 feet in length and from a quarter of an inch to 4 inches 
wide. In most cases the large specimens are extremely brittle. 
The next fifteen inches constitute a middle band, containing some Sequoia-diehr\s, and 
a considerable number of crushed leaves, the latter suggesting the idea that they had 
been deposited on a very uneven surface. A thin layer of “charred” lignite, several 
feet in length, was found in the middle of this band. 
The remaining part of the bed (the uppermost four inches) abounds in seeds of various 
kinds ; but it is chiefly marked by remains of Sequoia. It is not too much to say that 
