Note on recent controversies respecting Eozoon Canadense [microform]

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

IIIM 1125

IIIIM

:iiti6

12.2

2.0

1.8

1.25 1.4

1.6

^ 6" -

►

Va

^

/}

om(

e".

el

/a

o> -'N

y

^^

4

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14S80

(716) 872-4503

Q-

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHIVI/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

1980

Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques

The Institute has attempted to obtain the best
original copy available for filming. Features of this
copy which may be bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.

L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire
qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du
point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage
sont indiquds ci-dessous.

n
n

D
D

n

D
D

D

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

Covers damaged/
Couverture endommagde

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicul6e

Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

Coloured maps/

Cartes gdographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

Bound with other material/
Relid avec d'autres documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intdrieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas 6t6 film^es.

n

>/

n

Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

Pages damaged/
Pages endommagdes

Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul^es

Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages d6color6es, tacheti^es ou piqu^es

Pages detached/
Pages d^tachdes

r~^ Showthrough/
I I Transparence

I I Quality of print varies/

D
D

Quality in6gale de I'impression

Includes supplementary material/
Comprend du materiel supplementaire

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc., ont 6t^ film^es d nouveau de fapon d
obtenir la meilleure image possible.

D

Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl6mentaires:

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est film^ au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous.

10X 14X 18X 22X

26X

SOX

v/

12X

16X

20X

24X

28X

32X

lils

lu

Jifier

ine

age

The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:

The Nova Scotia
Legislative Library

The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce A la
g6n6rosit6 de:

The Nova Scotia

Legislative Library

Les images suivantes ont 6ti reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire film6, et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprim6e sont filmds en commenpant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, b par le second
plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la
premidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol — ^^ (meaning "CON-
TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END "),
whichever applies.

Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le
symbole V signifie "FIN".

Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre
film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filrr.i i partir
de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.

ata

siure.

3

I2X

1

2

3

1

2

3

4

5

6

■^■'

m-'"

\

*-" 'b1>^<^ ^

5" c/x

i\

(From the Canadian Naturalist V^dl.'j^ No. 4.)

NOTE ON RECENT CONtROVEKSIES RESPECTING
•»v«i» EOZOON CANADENSE.

Bv Princii'al Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., Ac.

In ^a' recent article, published in the American Jourruil 0/
iSai^ce, I have rem;»rked that

^^^Eozoon Canadeiise hnii, since the first anoounocment of its
discovery by Logan in 1859, attracted njuch attentioD, and has
befen very thoroughly investigated and disoasseii,- and at present
its organic character is generally admitted; 8tRt its claims «re
e^er and anon disputed, and as fast as one of^enent is disposed
of, another appears. This is in great part due tc the fact that
so few scietvtific men are in a position fully to apprecistte the
evidence respecting it. Geologists and mineralogists look upeii
it. with suspicion, partly on account of the great age and crystul-
line structure of the rocks in which it occurs, partly because it
is associated with the protean and disputed mineral Serpentine,
which some regard as eruptive, some as mctamorphic, some as
psoudomorphic, while few have had enough experience to enable
them to understand the difference between those serpentines
which occur in limestones, and in such relations as to prove their
contemporaneous deposition, and those which may have resulted
from the hydration of olivine or similar changes. Only a few
also have learned that Eozoon is only sometimes associated with
serpentine, but that it occurs also mineralized with loganite,
pyroxene, dolomite, or even earthy limestone, though the .«ierpen-
tinous specimens have attracted the most attention, owing to
their beauty and abundance in certain localities. The biologiuts
on the other hand, even those who are somewhat familiar with
foramiuiferal organisms, are little acquainted with the appearance
©f these when mineralized with silicates, traversed with iQiRiite
fnineral veins, faulted, crushed and partly defaced, as is the case
with most specimens of Eozoon. Nor are they willing to admit
the possibility that these ancient organisms may have presented
n more generalized and less definite structure than their modern
suoceasors. Worse, perhaps, than all these, is the circumstance
ihat dealers and injudicious amateurs have' intervened, and have
oireulated specimens of Eozoon, in which the structure is too
imperfectly preserved to admit of its recognition, or even Diere

»-«ife«H

:-fr-

3

fragmeDts of serpentindus limestone, without any structure what-
ever. I have seen in the collections of dealers and even in public
museums, specimens labelled " Eozoon Canadtnse,'' which have
as little claim to that designation as a chip of limestone has to
be called a coral or a crinoid," ='•

These statements v^ere called forth by the appearance of a
learned and well illustrated paper, disputing the animal nature
of Eozoon, by Prof Karl Moebius of Kiel, and in which, on the
evidence of several specimens given to him by Dr. C-irpeiiter and
myself, he assumes that he has " investigated more closely and
described more minutely " than any other naturalist, its forms
and structures, and that by his labours Eozoon has been '* suc-
cessfully eliminated from the domain of organic bodies."

feince the appearance of this memoir, and of my criticism upon
it, Moebius has published in the same Journal a reply, which has
appended to it a note by the principal editor, closing the contro-
versy in so far as that Journal is concerned, by stating that the
editor had pledged himself that no rejoinder would be permitted.
This, of course, excludes ti;e advocates of tlu; animal nature of
Eozoon from any farther argument, in so far as ilie principal
organ of scientific opinion in th(^ United States is concerned;
and it is partly for this reason that I appear at present in the
attitude of a defender of Eorjtou on its own soil, instead of, as
heretofore, carrying the war into the enemy's country.

Still later than this reply of Moebius, are two additional
papers of still more remarkable ciiaracter. For. while Moebius
is content to take up a purely nesrative position, these undertake
to account for the structures of Eozoon by other causes than that
of animal growth, and by causes altogether inconsistent with one
another. The first of these is an abstract of a memoir •' On the
origin of the mineral, structural and chemical characters of
:^ Ophites and related rocks." presented to the Royal Society of
London by Professors King and Rowney. The second is a quarto
pamphlet of 96 pages with 30 plates, by Dr. Otto Hahn, entitled
" Die Urzelle,,' the " Primordial cell."

I confess I do not regard either of these papers as of any
scientific value, in so far as Eozoon is concerned, but as they
are at least bold and confident in their tone, and emanate from
quarters which may be supposed to give them some little influ-

* Amor. .lour, of Hitience. March. 1879.

l^^J^

H

,

3

ence, I think it well to notice thorn along with the reply of Prof.
Moebius.

Moebius has thought proper to take advantage of the security
guaranteed to him by the Editor of the American Journal, to
reply to my courteous and somewhat forbearing criticism, in a
manner which relieves me from any obligation to be reticent as
to his errors ;md omissions. I shall, however, contint? myself to
those points in his rejoinder which seem most important in the
interest of scientific truth.

1. With reference to the geological and mineral relations of
Eozoon, I cannot acquit Moebius of a certain amount of inex-
cusable ignomnce. More especially, he treats the structures as
if they consisted merely of serpentine and c.wlcite, and neglects to
consider those specimens which, if more rare, are not less impor-
tant, in which the fossil has been mineralised by Loganite,
Pyroxene and Dolomite. If he had not specimens of these, he
should have procured them before publishing on the subject.
He neglects also to consider the broken fragments of Eozoon
scattered thiough the limestones, and the multitudes o^ Archceo-
spherina' lying in the layers of deposit. Nor can I find that he
has any clear idea how the structures of Eozoon could have been
produced otherwise than by living organisms. Still farther, he
mnkes requirements ;is to the state of preservation of the proper
wall and canal system which would be unfair even in the case of
Tertiary or Cretaceous Foruminifcra injected with Glauconite,
how much more in the case of a very ancient fossil contained in
rocks which have been subjected to great mechanical and chemi-
cal alteration.

2. In his reply he reiterates the statement that Eozoon is so
different from existing Foraminiferd. tliat, if this is a fossil, we
must divide all organic bodies in "I. Organic bodies with
protoplasmic nature (all plants and animals) ; and 2. Organic
bodies of Eozoonic nature (AW^o/t, Dawson)," Without refer-
ring to the somewhat offensive way in which this is stated, I need
only say that Dr. Carpenter has well replied that the structures
of Eozoon are in no respect more different from those of modern
Foraminifera than those ol' many other old fossils are from their
modern representatives. All palaeontologists know, for example,
that while we cannot doubt that Receptuculites, Archctocyaihus,
and iStromatopora are organic, and probably Protozoan, it has
proved most difficult to correlate their structures with those of
modern animals.

3. I took occaHion to ineution certain errors of Prof. Moebius,
due* to his limited inforrautiou on tlic subject of which he treats.
He admits two of these, wliich were particularly pointed out, but
taunts me with not producing others. This, however, would not
have been difficult had I been disposed to enter in detail into a
task so ungracious. Another example may be taken from his
plate XXXV, in which he represents together, and obviously for
comparison, portions of the pores or tubuli of the modern Pnly-
tirnia. and an imperfect fragment of the proper wall of Eozoon.
and this more especially, as appears in the text, to show the
comparative fineness of the latter. But the specimen of Eozoon
is magnified only 75 diameters, while that of Polytrema is mag-
nified 200 diameters, or in the prnportioii of oH'i.') to 40,000.
Again he has affirmed and repeats in his reply tint the casts
of the canal systems of Eo::oon do not present cylindrical forms
but are ''flat and uvr^'f^fO' branched stalk-like bodies." If they
appeared .so to him, he must have possessed most exceptional
specimens. Some canals, especially the larger, no doubt have
flattened ibrms, particularly at their points of bifurcation ; but
this is comparatively rare, more especially in the vastly nu-
merous minute canals which are more frequently filled with dolo-
mite than with serpentine. T have indeed been able to detect
only a few out of very numerous specimens in which the majority
of the casts of canals are not approximately round in cross .sec-
tion, even in the case of the larger canals. It is a <(uestion also
if some flattening may not be due to pressure , and there are flat
stolon-like tubes which can scarcely be called canals.^

It occurs to me here to remark that Moebius seems to have
overlooked the extremely fine canals injected with Dolomite that
fill the upper and thinner calcite walls of the better preserved
specimens, and which in the thinner walls are nearly as fine as
the tubuli of the j)roper wall, into which in many cases they
almost insensibly pass where these last are themselves filled with
dolomite. Possibly these structures iiave not been present in
his specimens, or may have been destroyed or rendered invisible
by his methods of prejiaration, and if so this would account for

• Tlie forms of the canals are jjorliaps best seen in (lecaleifiert
siu'cimens ; l>nt Mr. Weston, who has done so mneli toward this in-
vesti.gation, has managed to eut slices so aoturately at right anghis
to th«! general (course of groups of canals, as to show tluir round cross
sections with great distiu'tness.

%

5

some of his concluHioii^. These tine e.'inals are best seen in well-
preserved serpentinous specimens free from chrysotile veins, and
etched with very dilute nitric acid. They liave scarcely been
done justice to in any of the published fij^ures either of Dr. Car-
penter or myself, and do not appear in those of l*roi'. Moebiufl.

4. In reply to my objection that he lias confounded the proper
wall of Eozoon with veins of ehrysotile. and that both are repre-
sented in his figures, he challenges me to point out which of the
latter are ehrysotile and which proper wall. 01 course doing so
will be of little importance to the argument, but I may indicate
his tigs. 18, 43, 44 and 4S as in my opinion taken from portions
of proper wall, and fig. 45 seems to show the proper wall along
with ehrysotile. 1 may I'arther now point out to him that even
Profs. King and llowncy in their recent paper admit that the
proper wall is not continuous ehrysotile, but consists of" aciculae
separated by calcareous interpolations," though they try to ac-
count for this structure by complicated changes supposed to have
occurred in veins of ehrysotile subsecjuontly to theii' deposition.

In truth, the ehrysotile veins crosfs all the structures of Eozoon^
and those specimens are best preserved which have suffered least
from this subsequent infiltration of ehrysotile into cracks formed
apparently by mechanical means. This has been amply shewn in
figures which I have already published, but I have now still more
characteristic specimens which I hope may yet be engraved.

5. Prof. Moebiiv- sneers at my statement that when tlie proper
wall of Eozoon is merely calcareous and not infiltrated, its struc-
tures are invisible, and that in many cases it has become opaque,
while in thick slices its structure is always indistinct ; but he
should know that this is the case with all tine organic tubuli or
pores in fossils penetrated with mineral matter, and eminently so
with fossil Nummulites, as the researches of Carpenter have long
ago demonstrated, and as any one possessing slices of the.se fossils
can see for himself. I may add tliat in some decalcified speci-
mens in my possession, where the proper wall has been wholly of
calcite, it is indicated merely by an empty band intervening be-
tween the serpentine cast and the supplemental skeleton fflled
with casts of canals.

6. Lastly, he seems to think that no offence should be t:>ken
at his insinuation that the figures printed by Dr. Carpenter and
myself are idealized or untruthful representations, and he repeats
the accusation in the following terms : '* The individual peouli-

..^

6

arities of diagrams should not exceed the Kmita of the known
variability of the real specimens, but in the Eoxooii diuiirams of
Carpenter and Dawson these limits are exceeded." There could
not, I think, be a more plain charm; of wilful falisification, and
this is made by a naturalist who discusses Aozwh without having
taken the pains oither to study it /// Hitu, or to avail himself of
the larfre (ioljcctions of specimens which exist in P]nj:;land and in
Canada. I can only reply that while I have been unable to
figure all the peculiarities of the canal .systems of this complicated
and often badly preserved fo.ssil, I have endeavoured to select
the most characteristic specimens ; and that my representations
are princij)al!y. nature-prints, photonraphs, and camera tracings,
some of the latter by irtists in no way interested in Eozooii. Dr.
Carpenter's representations appear to me to be equally truthful.
Neither of us have taken the trouble to repre.sent badly preserved
or imperfect specimens, any more than we siiould do so in the
case of any other foi^sil, when better examples were procurable.

In conn"ction with this, Moebius seems to think that in my
criticism I should have gone into all the details into which he
enters. This was unnece.ssary, except to i.-xpose his principal
errors or mis-statements. It could not have been done without
publishing a treatise as long and as expensivt'ly illustrated as his
own ; and this I .should prefer to do in .>^ome other form than as
a mere reply to him ; and with reference to much larger and
more varied collections than those at his command. It is to be
hoped that his expectations will be satisfied in this respect by a
monograph which Dr. Carpenter proposes to undertake.

He is good enough to add that if I will send him more and
better specimens, he will willingly " forgive " me for '• disappoint-
ing" him and other naturalists. 1 must say that I cannot pur-
chase forgiven ne.ss on such terms, but if he will take the trouble
to visit Canada and inspect my collections, he shall have every
opportunity to do so.

I think it is only due to the interests oi'palgeontological science
to add here, that I attach more blame to the editors of the Ger-
man publiciition " Palaeontographica,'' in which his memoir ap-
pears, than to Prof. Moebius himself. We have been in the
habit of regarding this publication as one in which the matured
results of original observers and discoverers are given, and when
it devotes 40 costly plates to the labours of a naturalist who is not
of this character, in so far as Eozoon is concerned, and who has

t

not cvon studied the principal collections on which other natur-
alists ecjually competent have based their conclusions, they incur
a responsibility much more grave than if they were merely the
conductors of a popular scientific journal, open to cursory dis-
cussions of controverted points. They cannot rel'evc themselves
from tills responsibility till they shall liavc publislud a really ex-
haustive description of Kozoon by some one of the original workers
on the subject. This is the more necessary, since if hJtK.(H)>i is
really a fossil, its discovery is one ot' the most important in
modern palwontoldgy, and since its claims cannot be .settled
except by the most fnll itivestigation and illustration.

The second {)aper referred to abov(! contains little that is new,
being a re-h;ibilitation of that hypothfsis of " Methylosls," or
chemic il transmutation, which the authors have already fully
explained in the Transactions of the Irish Academy and else-
where. Its bearing on Eozoon is simply this: — that if any one
ac()uainted with geological and chemical possibilities can be in-
duced to believe that the L:iurentian limestones of Canada are
'' Methyjosed products,'' which originally • existed as gneisses,
hornblende schists, and other mineralised silacid meiamorphics,"
he may be induced also to believe that h'o-.'nm is a product of
nirrely mineral metamorphism.

When we consider that these great limestones hav<' been so
fully traced and mapped by Sir William Logan and his succes-
sors on the Geological Survey ; that some of them are several
hundreds of feet in thickness and traceable for great distances,
that they are quite conformable with tli'' containing beds, and
themselves exhibit alternating layers of limostoiu' and d lomite,
with layers (tharacterized by the presence of graphite, serpentine,
and other minerals, and subordinate thin bands of gneiss and
pyroxene rock, the idea that they can be products of a sort of
pseudomorphism of gneisses and similar rocks, becomes stupend-
ously absurd, and can only be accounted foi' by want of acquaint-
ance with the facts on the part of the authors.

To explain tlu^ structures of hJnzoon. however, even this is not
altogether sufficient, but we must su[)pose a peculiar and complex
arrangianent of laminae, canals, and microscopic tubuli or fibres
simulating them, to be produced in some parts of llie limestones
and not in others; ajid this by the agency of several different
kinds of minerals.

In other words we have to suppose a conversioti on a irigantic

-^

scale ofgnoi^.s into dolomite, limestone, j^raphite, Mcrpcntinc, aud
other minerals, consisting for the mcst part even of difFcrcnt
elements, and this at the same time or by still more mysteriouh
subsequent chauucs, producinj^ imitations ol' the most delicuti-
organic forms. Tiie mere statement of this hypothesis is, 1
think, sufficient to show that it ciinnot be accepted either by
chemists or |»Mljcoiitol()L>ists, and if (mly serves to illustrate the
difficulties which hjor.oon present.- to those who will not accept
the theory of its organic origin.

Dr. Otto llalin regards the matter from an entirely diffiirent
point of view. He lias himself visited Canada, has collected
specimens of I'Jo:j)oii, and now proposes to effect an entire revolu-
tion in our ideas df the pahcoiitology of the Eozoic rocks.

In a former pa|ier he hid miintaiiied that hJozoon is altouether
of mineral origin, that its seri>entine is hydrated olivine, iui<l
the canal system mt.rely cracks in calcite injected by the expan-
sion of this mineral. This hypothesis iie now finds untenable.
and he regards J'Jumiou as a vegetable [)roduetion, or rarher as a
.s(>ries of such productions. He regards the lamina) as petrified
fronds of a .sea-weed, and the canal systi'uis .is finer algte of .seve-
ral genera and species. Not content with this, he describes as
plants other forms found in gr.mite, gneiss, basalt, and even
meteoric iron, and others found included in the substance of
crystals of Arragonite. Corundum and Beryl. All these are
suppo.sed to be algju of new species, and science is enriched by
great numbers of generic and specific names to designate them,
while they arc illustrated by thirty plates representing the ([ualnt
and grotesque forms of these objects, many of which are obviously
such as we have been in the habit of regarding as mere dendritic
crystallisations, cavities, or im{)iirities included in crystals.

Among other curious di.sct)veries the author refers to a plant
which he honours me by naming Photophohn D<ncso7ii. and
which he diseo\cred iu certain "amoeba-like" nodules of flint
found in the Silurian of Montreal, and used to adorn the grounds
of McGill College. I was puzzled for some time by this, until
it occurred to me that at the time of the Doctor's visit some
English gravel had been laid on our College terrace, and that
several heaps of large irregular flints from this gravel had been
gathered iu front of the buildings. These had apparently afforded
the new plant in question. Some other plants stated to be found
in hornblende from Montreal mountain, and in limestone said to
be called -'fancy stone,'" are more difficult to account for.

'^

9

All this jiliitit tlicdiy, ;idv;mcod with tin; utmost contidunce, has
no evidence whatever except the assertion ol the author aud his
beliel" as to the imperfect ciiaracter of the observations ol' his
predecessors. The tbllowiiig extracts, kindly translated by our
colleague Dr. Sommer. will serve to show his mode of treatment : —

■• I was ((Hiviiirrd (if ilir iiioruauic iiiiturc I'l Imizuuii, or at Ifust ol'
tlie fact tliat it t (.iiltl not lie an animal. i>ut tlir liiu- -Manal syHti-ms"
iis Dr. ('ai'iM'ntvT had iiuni*'<l tin in. wcic the ."oincc ot inn< li anxious
tlioiii;)il on my part, and tlii> was nt'crssarily nu^'Uicnlrd liy tin- t'ol-
lowin;; ronNidi'iatioii. of wliicl) 1 could not rid myst'lt'. -(JnciKK i.'^
formed liy watt-r and tin r<toic a srdinnnlan ro< k. lis laytis of
linicstonc nmst contain tlic first oijianic cik losurcs : tor. life cannot
]i»'ffin with llic silmian rocks. ' Tliis is a liypollH'sis, hut, like nuiny
others tliiit are true, one o) which I havi' not yet rid niysejl'.'

" It happened, then, that I had to ;.;'o to Canada, in ( onsecpien* c ot
an invitation tVoni the Canadian (Jovcinniciit.* I visited l>i. Dawson
iiud then< e went to Cote St. I'ielle. Petit Nation, there I saw tin;
stratified layers and obtained a LTieat niinilM'r of jiieces of Ko/.ooiiic
Limestone tind of Koy,o(ini( specimens, (n my return I examined
the material. 'Die result of my examinati>ns I puhlisli here: the
l.iiiK'sloiif {ft' ihr I .nuiinlmn i 1 iuisk dJ Cnuii'hi. llu dLIisI sitlinii iihiiji sli'diii
ill oir iiiri/i. iiiiiliii IIS ii i^iiiit (ii\'/<iiiiziili'iii /ti'/diii/iiii/ III llu- Jiinnlij <ij ihe
A/i/n .''

••'I'ill now there have lieeu Imt few new species estalilislied dilTcr-
etit hum till- modern ; lait. 1 am persnailed. that hy ( (mtinual re-
searches, the iiiimlicr will soon he increased. All tin sc jdants. I found
fU'cldscd in the /rm •■ Kozooic liock," which I shall henceforth cull
/■'(i/ifii/f/ir fj'iitffiiiic. J shall draw attention to the words that my lion-
uraltle friend Dr. Dawson also used: "ail is not Kozoon ! f

Then follows a deseription. condensed from ('anadian reports,
of the Jjaurenti.iii formation, after whicli occur tlie following
statements : —

■• It is iiKduiprehensihle that on looking upon tiiis form, a |)laTit
did not occur to thi' mind, at once, it can <inly he explained thus:
that, at firtif, w hen such jiieces were not yet diseoverod, they wore so
](re|)osses.st'd liy the iiha ol Koraminifeia. that it pervaded .ill their
invesii.uations : while the opponents, (myself included) arrived at
onee at the ohvious conclusion ; namely tliat not being animal it was
therefore mineral. "

* Dr. Halm seems to have l)een employed on some mission con-
neeted with emiii ration from (Jermany.

t'J'liis. I suppose, refers to tlie fact that I warned Dr. H. that he
woidd tind tlie irreater jiart of the T,aurentian limestone to In- desti-
tute of distintiuishahle Kozoon.

10

"1 foimd the HpuLioM vvliich I fust called Eophnllum in a piece of
Eozoon, in the fiiKt wliite baud of limcHtone overlying a layer of ser-
pentine* ; in other words between two layers of serpentine. Then first
this question otcurred to me : Are not the whole lumps of Eoisoon
plants ? I was forced to yield to the inference after I hful exposed, by
applying Hydrochloric acid tn the limestone, some larj^er lamellae
which were in connection with serpentinic layers ; indeed, the forms
are so permanent and so constantly reappearing that they cannot be
explained otherwise. Of t dinse witli this there was gained the best
argument against t animal theory; for, hitlierto the discovered
species of Alg;p ha\ ■ never be(!ii found in either stones or shells.
This plant belongs to the family of tlic Alga'. They either rest im-
mediately uiiou dolomite and gneiss, or. arc found .a the proper
Bvophyllous limestone, i.e. in the layers of st-rpentine limestone, be-
tween the large strata of doJMniitc and serpentine. They are, however,
not only to be found iu tlir limestone, but also in the stii)eutine of
the strata. No ,iiaiits or Imt few. arc found in the tliiik I;i} crs of scr-
pentins wl-."ili (Mu lose the Eophyllous limestone: certainly none in
the lowest. Some of them may be seen with the naked eye, while
with the microscoi)e, \vv come to the smallest conceivable forms.
Being replaced by silicates, they may be exposed by the application
of acid to the limestone. This done, the plants mt'ke tlieir appearance
as shining white stems, calyxes, and ler/i es. In thinly ground plates,
they ajipear a yellowish browu. 'J'liis, probably, is the reason that
Mohius describes their color as being a light l)rown. In reality, it is
the refraction of the light in the opacjue masses." *

" There was scarcely ever a more dilticult task given to natural
science, than the deter'uination of the nature of '^ Euzooii." When I
made my lirst annininccmcnt of Eoji/ti/tltnu in the "Auslaud" I little
thought that the large ribbons of serpentine were also plants. I had
already half-finished this work after my original plan, when I came
across a defective specimen of rock, in which, in consequence of its
defectiveness, tlu' serpentiue parts were very clearly distinguishable.

"T looked at it over and over again, till it .struck me that the
sarcode-i hambcrs were nothing but cells of plants. Thus the fate of
the microscopist is decideti. What others can see with the naked
eye he does not see at all. Then came the more difficult part: the
examination of the case. Now, I had no more doubt. And in this
manner only facts become clear. The ribbons of serpentine which
constitute that which is called Eoxoon, behmg to an alga with broad
leaves — if the expressicui is permitted — which radiating from one point
arranges itself in regular forms. The basal-cell rests upon serpentine
or d«domite. Roots I found only in one case, of which, however, I am
not sure. The limestone is the replacing-material. The germ-cells

i

•Thus far, the author refers principally to the serpentine casts of
the canal .systeui.

1P

11

arc Mtill visible' in it. for in ground pioceK for the mitroRcopo they
vtill shine through. This may he proved by dissolving the limestone
by means of acid. Here the leaves are perfectly covered with germ-
cells, the " warzenaufiutze " of (iimibel. This is still clearer wherever
the plant has been altered into dolomite. The brood-ct'll^s are then
visible withont the aid of the microscope. There appear, also, calyx-
like cells, clear as water, whidi liavr wiatliereil out upon tlif doln-
mite.

'' But by far the most lu'autifu] are tlir limestones in which the
plants are changed, partly into serpentine, and partly into mica.
* ■* The same cells are oliserved in a spar, changed into copper and mala-

chite, visible to the naked eye. The canal-systenis, theretori', of the
" intermediate skeleton" are the niit rosi oiiical plants wliiih, partly,
are simply of a limestone nature or have grown firmly upon large
algfe. or are deposited there, dead. As 1 remarked in the beginning,
a key to this new creation is, at all events, necessary. I say new. for
it is entirely new to our imagination. The microscopical forms con-
Htitute this key. Now from tiiese .safe premises we may easily come
to a conclusion ; but 1 must here caution against the exclusive use of
i ground microscopica! plates.' It is only by mere accident that, by

' this means, a view is gained ; hundreds uf them may bt; made, but

only a very trained eye can decipher them."

It seems .scarcely necessf ry to criticise tlie above statements,
as it is probable that very tew naturalists will be disposed to
accept tlie supposed plants described by Dr. Hahu as veritable
species. It may be observed, however, that in regarding the
thick plates of .serpentine, interrupted, attached to each other at
intervals, penetrated by pillars of calcite, and becoming acervuline
upward, as fossil alga), he disregards all vegetable analogies;
while in supposing that the calcite is a tilling, and that the deli-
cate fillings of canals contained in it are fine thread-like algae, he
equally asserts what is improbable. Farther, no vegetable struc-
ture or remaitis of carbonaceous mutter have been discovered in
the serpentine. Had he discovered these supposed vegetable
forms in the graphite of the Laurentian, this would have been
ta,r more credible.

Hahn's paper, however, suggests one or two points of interest
respecting Eozoon, which have perhaps not been sufficiently in-
sisted on. One of these is the occurrence of rounded ' cham-
berlets " in the calcareous walls. These are his "germ-cells,"

* If this is intended to apply to Cantidian and English students of
JSossoon, it is qui*^' Inaccurflte, as they have always employed deealcl-
ied specimens as well.

p

12

and they yoiuetimcH presen:. the curious character that they are
hollow vesicles of serpentine filled with calcite, and when thest
have been cut across in making a section, and the calcite has
been dissolved out with an acid, they present very singular ap-
pearances. They may in some cases have been germs of ii'oA.oow,
or smaller foraminifera of the type oi' Archivospherinai, ovar^^rovfu
by the calcareous walls. It is farther to be observed, as I have
also elsewhere remarked, that the serpentine filling the larger
spaces between the calcareous lauiinas sometimes shows indica-
tions of deposit as a lining of tlie cells, and in some specimens
this lining has not filled the original space but has left a drusy
cavity afterwards filled with calcite.

Again, in parts of the canal system, especially wiien tilled with
dolomite, there occur little disc-like bodies m- trumpet-shaped
terminations of canals. These, I fancy, are the calyx-like objects
figured by Halm. Their precise significance is not known,
further than that they may represent the expanded ends of
canals. Another appearance deserving of notice is the occurrence
of portions of specimens of Eozoon in which little or no serpentine
occupies the chambers. In this case the lamiiuc have either
been pressed close together, or the chambers have been filled with
calcite not distinguishable i'rom the walls, in which, however, the
casts of groups of canals often occur, and might then be more
readily mistaken for algae than when they occur between laminMo
of serpentine.

Lastly, I have recently found in a specimen of Eozoon, struc-
tures which may possibly indicate contemporaneous plants. I
have previously remarked the occurrence of deep pits or cylindri
cal cavities in some specimens of Eozoon, and have supposed that
they might be of the nature of oscula. Those now referred to
are, however, more definite than any previously observed. They
are cylindrical perforations penetrating the whole thickness of
the mass, and filled with calcite. One of them is simple, another
seems to bifurcate. They are about an eighth of an inch in
diameter, and present indications of alternate .swellings and coii-
ti actions. In approaching them the plates of serpentine .split
into two, and then unite, forming a continuous clo.se wall of
barcode. This proves that these tubes are not perforations of
any boring animals. They must be either definite canals pene-
trating the maas while living, or must represent cylindrical stems
of algi6 or other perishable organisms, around which the Eozoon

'•,'"" "^"M""

13

has grown. As they are only exceptionally seen, the latter sup
position is perhaps the more probable. Peculiarities of this kind,
to which perhaps heretofore too little attention has been given,
are of some importance with reference to the controversies re-
specting Eozoon.

It may be said, in connection with the attacks in question, that
if Enzoon is an object of which so many and stranu;e explanations
can be given, it is probable that no certainty whatever can be
attained as to its real nature. On the other hand it is fair to
argue that, if the opponents of its animal nature are driven to
misrepresentation and to wild and incoherent theories, there is
the more reason to repose confidence in the sober view of its
origin, consistent with its geological relations and microscopic
characters, which has commended itself to Carpenter, Gumbel,
Rupert Jones, Sterry Hunt, and a host of other competent
naturalists and geologists. For my own part the arguments ad-
duced by opponents, and the re-examination of specimens which
they have sugge.sted, have served to make my original opinion as
to its nature seem bettor supported and more probable; though
of course T would be far "rom being dogmatic on such a subject,
or claiming any stronger conclu.sioii than that of a rea.sonable
probability, which may be increased as new facts develop them-
selves, but cannot amount to absolute certainty until the discovery
of Laurentian rocks in an unaltered state shall enable us to com-
pare their fossils more easily with those of later formations.

In point of fact, the evidence for the organic nature of a fo.ssil
Buch as that in question, is necessarily cumulative, and depends
on its mode of occurrence and state of mineralisation, as well as
on its general form and micro.'^copic structure ; and it is perhaps
hopeless to expect that any considerable number of naturalists
will be induced to undertake the investigations neces.sary to form
an independent opinion on the subject. It may be hoped, how-
ever, that they Wiil fairly weigh the evidence presented, and will
also take into consideration the difficulty of accounting for such
forms and structures except on the hypothesis of an organic

origin.