352 Mifieralogical. Account of the Island of Cor sled, 



tion, and I never met with it before. The following is the 

 route I took to the place where I found this beautiful rock. 



By moving in the direction which I traced out to myself 

 when leaving Basiioj I not only followed some chains of 

 mountains from N.W. to S^and from E. to W. but I also tra- 

 versed several valleys, and turned considerable gulfs which se- 

 parate them in various directions. When I was in iho. Pieve 

 (TOstriconiy where the chain commences which divides the 

 island through its whole length to its southern extremity, I 

 traversed the highest mountains which presented themselves 

 to me, and among others that of Niolo, called in the language 

 to the country Monte- Per tusato, because it is pierced at its 

 summit. Its base seemed to be intersected by some de- 

 tached masses, and others adhering to it, of jaspers and por- 

 phyries of great variety. I followed the valley which leads 

 to the place called Santa- Maria-la- Stella. Between these 

 two points, south-east from the former and south from the 

 latter, and at an equal distance from both, there is a high 

 mountain covered with wood, upon the western brow of 

 which I discovered a block of stone, almost square, about 

 four feet and a half long. It was sunk into the ground, and 

 exhibited globular bodies on one of its side?, remarkable 

 from their disposition and colour, and fixed in the stony 

 mass : some were about an inch in diameter, whW^ others 

 •were larger or smaller : all of them presented^ a peculiar 

 character which I had never seen in any stone. Not more 

 than six inches of this rock was exhibited above ground; and 

 in order to ascertain its dimensions I took away the earth 

 which surrounded it. I then found that it was two feet and 

 some inches in thickness. I also observed that its angles 

 were entire and acute ; which made me think that it had 

 never been removed sipce placed there, and particularly be- 

 cause the part of the slope of the mountain where it was is 

 bare ; and because, among the various blocks and masses 

 which surround it, it is the only one which is covered with 

 vegetable earth. I could only bring away a piece weighing 

 about 24 pounds ; the rest was too large and heavy. 



When the specimen was detached and exposed to view, it 

 seemed to me so beautiful and so extraordinary an appendage 



to 



