As geologists, we
can not be too grateful to those who, instead of despairing when so difficult a
task was presented to them, or being discouraged when men of the highest
scientific attainments treated the fossil leaves as worthless, entered with full
faith and enthusiasm into this new and unexplored field. That they should
frequently have fallen into errors was unavoidable, but it is remarkable,
especially if we inquire into the history of Professor Heer's researches, how
often early conjectures as to the genus and family founded on the leaves alone
were afterwards confirmed when fuller information was obtained. As examples to
be found on comparing Heer's earlier and later works, I may instance the
chestnut, elm, maple, cinnamon, magnolia, buckbean or Menyanthes, vine,
buckthorn (Rhamnus), Andromeda and Myrica, and among the conifers Sequoia and
Taxodium. In all these cases the plants were first recognised by their leaves,
and the accuracy of the determination was afterwards confirmed when the fruit,
and in some instances both fruit and flower, were found attached to the same
stem as the leaves.
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