Fig. 9. The receptacle of a very remarkable form of Encrinite, called by Mr. Parkinson "the _Cap Encrinite_ of Derbyshire." I can find no notice of this beautiful and unique specimen in the work of Miller or of subsequent authors; neither am I aware of any data by which a relation can be established between this receptacle and the ossicula and stems, so abundant in the carboniferous limestone of Derbyshire. [Illustration: Plate L.] PLATE L. Encrinites and Pentacrinites. The Pear Encrinite of Bradford; Mr. Parkinson. (_Apiocrinus rotundus_, of Miller. ---- _Parkinsoni_, of Bronn.) The most generally known of the British Crinoidea, from its size, and abundance in one particular locality, is the "_Pear Encrinite_" of Bradford in Wiltshire, some of the quarries of the oolite on the heights above that picturesquely-situated town, yielding not only immense quantities of detached plates and ossicula, but also numerous examples of the receptacle, and occasionally the entire skeleton from the peduncle of the base to the extremities of the arms. The lamented Mr. Channing Pearce, and his father (now of Percy Place, Grosvenor, Bath), when resident at Bradford, paid such unremitting attention to the collection of these fossils, that perfect specimens were obtained, exhibiting the entire structure of the originals; of these some fine examples are preserved in the British Museum. Sir Charles Lyell mentions a very interesting fact relating to the occurrence of these Crinoidea in the strata. He states that the upper surface of a bed of limestone at Bradford is incrusted with a continuous pavement formed by the stony roots of the Apiocrinites; and upon this is a layer of clay in which are the stems and bodies (receptacles) of innumerable examples; some erect, others lying prostrate; while throughout the clay are scattered detached arms, stems, and receptacles. This submarine forest of Crinoideans must therefore have flourished in the clear sea-water till invaded by a current loaded with mud, which overwhelmed the living zoophytes, and entombed them in the argillaceous deposit in which their remains are now imbedded.[45] [Footnote 45: See Wonders of Geology, vol. ii. p. 653.] The receptacle of this Apiocrinite is pyriform and very smooth, the plates are large and thin, with radiating articulated surfaces; the stem is short, smooth, and strong, the arms are simple, and like those of the Marsupite; the peduncle spreads out into an expanded base, which is firmly attached to the rock; sections of this part are generally of a purple colour. Fig. 1. Part of the column of the Bradford Encrinite. 2. Part of the receptacle; a minute incrusting coral (_Bryozoa_) is attached to the lower part, giving the stem a rough appearance. Figs. 3, & 4. Surface of detached plates of the receptacle.