420 Solms-Laubach . — On the Fructification 
by G. A. Mantell 1 with material obtained from the Isle of 
Wight. He says of a stem which he had picked up as a 
pebble on the shore of Brook Bay : * This fragment is highly 
interesting, for the calcareo-silicious earth, of which the stem 
now consists, is of a finer texture than in any of the Tilgate 
Forest specimens, and transverse sections display under the 
microscope more satisfactory indications of the organisation 
of the original. Without many figures and more lengthened 
descriptions than our space will admit of, the peculiarities of 
structure exhibited in these slices could not be demonstrated ; 
it must therefore suffice to state that the organisation, so far 
as it can be determined, shows a near approach to that of the 
Cycadeae . 5 I believe that I recognise this specimen in a stem 
at present in the Geological Department of the British 
Museum, which has been cut through and marked on the 
upper surface with the word ‘ Brook ’ written in ink. I am 
not perfectly certain on this point, because there are several 
fragments of the same mineral substance lying close to it and 
known to have come from Mantell ; and because this particular 
specimen, strange to say, does not bear the number which 
indicates its place in Mantell’s collection. 
Mantell also states 2 that Mr. Saxby, of Bonchurch, in the 
Isle of Wight, had lent him the section of a Clathr arici-s tem 
showing structure, ‘ in which the bundles of vascular tissue in 
the petioles appear to be made up of spiral vessels.’ I have 
not been able to ascertain where this preparation is preserved. 
Almost at the same time Corda 3 published a figure and 
description of the structure of the leaf-bases of his Zamites 
Bucklandi which belongs to this group ; he suspects that the 
specimen in the imperial collection at Vienna came from 
England. 
It may seem strange that, under such circumstances, no 
further contribution to our knowledge of the anatomical struc- 
1 Mantell, ‘The Medals of Creation,’ ed. 2, vol. ii. p. 162, and ‘Geological 
Excursion round the Isle of Wight,’ p. 215. London, 1854. 
2 Mantell, ‘The Medals of Creation,’ ed. 2, vol. ii. p. 162. 
3 Corda, ‘ Beitrage zur Flora der Vorwelt,’ p. 38, t. 17. Prag, 1845. 
