Possible Xcii' Coal-Plants Etc., in Coal. — Grcsley. \) 
which is, I think, globular in form, peeping through the 
broken envelope b. The substance of c is beautifully pearly 
white, or of a pale resinous hue, and presumably is petrified 
albumen or endosperm. 
Fig. II. Seed, very similar to that in fig. lo, and in the same or a 
similar pyritous nodule in the What Cheer coal bed. Devel- 
oped by grinding and polishing. Shows flocculent, cloudy 
white, central or nucleal material c : golden colored mem- 
brane b; horned and 4-cornered testa or pericarp a. 
Fig. 12. External aspect of another seed very like the one in fig. 10, 
but probably a less perfect specimen as to the outer envel- 
ope, one of the 4 corners seems to be brokeri off. Here again 
is seen the pearly-looking nucleus where the coverings have 
been removed. 
These seeds are, in the What Cheer coal material, associ- 
ated with Lepidodendron, (?) Sphenophyllnni, Myclopteris, 
and the other forms herein illustrated, e. g-. Cardiocarpus, 
Pecopteris, etc. 
The horizon of the What Cheer coal bed is, by the state geo- 
logical survey, considered to be near the base of the coal meas- 
ures, or in the "Des Moines" stage of the Carboniferous. (See 
Iowa Geological Survey. Vol. IV. Third Annual Report, 1894, 
pp. 225-311.) 
The pyritous concretions in the What Cheer coal furnish us 
with samples of what may be called the razv inaferial of coal 
saved from coalification by these concentrations of iron, sul- 
phur, lime, etc. 
Reference to Plate V. and Remarks on the Specimens. 
Fig. I. Longitudinal section, developed by grinding a!'"^! polishmg 
a fragment of a pyritous concretion, of a small bractiforni 
inflorescence. Locality. What Cheer, Iowa. 
Fig. 2. Longitudinal section of another very similar form, possess- 
ing stamens in loco natali. From same material, same coal- 
bed, and same locality as specimen fig. i. Does not this 
specimen suggest a male flower showing pollen sacs? At- 
tached to the stalk of this fossil were two other very similar 
flowers (if flowers they can be called), one on each side and 
about one-eighth of an inch below it. The stalks, however, 
were very poorly preserved, no structure was observed in 
them. 
Fig. 3. Transverse sectional aspect of one of these cones, very 
close to its base. 
I'ig. 4. Transverse section — polished, of one of these cones from 
the coal in Iowa. 
