Abstract
PROF. G. R. WIELAND made an eloquent plea (Science, March 19, 1937), that will be endorsed by the botanists of all countries, for the creation of a national monument on the Black Hills, U.S.A., in which specimens of the remarkable cycadeoid fossils will be exposed in situ for study among their natural surroundings. The magnificent photographs of these specimens previously published by Prof. Wieland are evidence how effective such a display would be. His present arguments, indicating the striking parallelisms between these plants and the types discovered in the Carpathians and the Isle of Wight and Isle of Portland and elsewhere, and directing attention to their increased significance in view of the wide vistas on floral morphology in the Gymnosperms opened by the discovery of the marvellous petrified Araucarian forest of the Cerro Cuadrado in central Patagonia, reinforce very powerfully the case for expenditure of time and money in achieving an appropriate display of these unique fossils. The locality is described as very accessible ; the horizon is perfectly defined and the quarrying necessary not extensive. It is very much to be hoped that Prof. Wieland's object will be attained and the United States thus obtain a national monument that would be quite unique in its character and clear evidence that that great nation appreciates the value of some of its most remarkable scientific possessions.
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A Nature Reserve of Fossil Plants. Nature 141, 324 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141324b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141324b0