CONIFERiE. 
59 
sandstone contributes the voltzici and the 
cypvcsSy the coal measures display the lofty 
araucaria, or a similar tree to that which 
forms the noble pine of Norfolk Island. 
The hard fruit of the fir and other cone¬ 
bearing trees, is well calculated for preser¬ 
vation, and accordingly we find cones of 
many kinds figured in the works on fossil 
botany, under the name lepido-strohi. The 
impressions are frequently as fresh as those 
which would result from the recent pro¬ 
ductions of our woods, and indicate as well 
the cones which have periodically fallen, as 
those which have been prostrated with the 
parent tree. Polished sections shew the 
seeds in the cells, arrested and sealed up in 
their stony envelope, never again to spring 
into living foliage, but still for ever bearing 
proofs of Almighty workmanship and skill. 
The coniferous remains, though not iden¬ 
tical with any species now existing, yet ap¬ 
pear as familiar friends amidst the strange 
forms with which they are associated. The 
noble aspect, and useful qualities of the fir, 
renders it, in one species or another, an im¬ 
portant production in every part of the 
world. 
