. The testimony of the rocks; . ting the general framework, if I may sospeak, of this skeleton fern, to even those best acquaintedAvith the figures; and an elaborate restoration of its con-temporary, Sphenopteris affinis (see frontispiece) which Icompleted fiom a fine series of specimens in my collection,will be new, as a whole, to those most familiar with thiscommonest of the Burdiehouse fossils. From comparisonsinstituted between minute portions of this Sphenopteris anda recent fern, it has been held considerably to resemble aDavallia of the West Indies; whereas it will be seen fromthe entir
. The testimony of the rocks; . ting the general framework, if I may sospeak, of this skeleton fern, to even those best acquaintedAvith the figures; and an elaborate restoration of its con-temporary, Sphenopteris affinis (see frontispiece) which Icompleted fiom a fine series of specimens in my collection,will be new, as a whole, to those most familiar with thiscommonest of the Burdiehouse fossils. From comparisonsinstituted between minute portions of this Sphenopteris anda recent fern, it has been held considerably to resemble aDavallia of the West Indies; whereas it will be seen fromthe entire frond that it was characterized by very strikingpeculiarities, exemplified, say some of our higher botanicalauthorities, to Avhom I have submitted my restoration, byno fern that now lives. The frond of Davallia Canarien-sls^ though luilike in its venation, greatly resembles in gen-40 470 ON THE LESS KNOWiq eral outline one of the larger pinnae of Sphenopteris affiniSfbut these pinnae form only a small part of the entire frond. SPHENOPTERIS BIFIDA. {Burdiehouse,) of this Sphenopteris. It was furnished with a stout leaflessrachis, or leaf-stalk, exceedingly similar m form to that ofour common brake {Pteris aquilina). So completely, in-deed, did it exhibit the same club-like, slightly bent termi-nation, the same gradual diminution in thickness, and thosame smooth surface, that one accustomed to see this partof the bracken used as a thatch can scarce doubt thatthe stipes of Sphenopteris would have served the. purpose J FOSSIL FLORAS OF SCOTLAND. 471 equally well; nay, that were it still in existence to be soemployed, a roof thatched with it, on which the pinnae andleaflets were concealed, and only the club-like stems ex-l^osed, row above row, in the style of the fern-thatcher,could not be distinguished, so far as form and size went,from a roof thatched with brake. High above the club-like termination of the rachis the stem divided into twoparts, each of which, a little higher up,
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