ON THE PLEONAST RUBY. 379 



tain of Moritferrier: in fact it is met with there in a tufa$ 

 that has the form of a breccia. I have never yet found it 

 in a breccia, but like those that came from Ceylon, which 

 are most commonly in amorphous or rounded masses, that 

 have experienced a commencement of alteration. Perhaps 

 this word is too strong to mark the state in which this sub- 

 stance is found, for it appears too hard, to alter easily ; yet 

 its colour is so dull, that it appears to be altered. 



Apparently the pleonast is a very accidental mixture in An accidental 

 the breccia : a few of the crystals, detached from the rocks JJ^|.£j e m 

 in which they were contained, have been united to the va- 

 rious surrounding substances by some cement*. Crystal- 

 lized pleonast rubies are found likewise in the bottom of 

 the gullies at the foot of the little mountain of Mont- 

 ferrier, and almost always on the surface of the detritus of 

 the surrounding substances. 



A totally different situation, where this substance equally Found in a 

 presents itself, and in pretty large quantity, is atSoret, 6n s * nd nej jJ". 

 the left bank of the Lez, about a mile from Montpellier. 

 It is found on the surface of a sand mixed with shells and 

 bowldered quartz. This sand rests on strata of sandstone, 

 and very various and heterogeneous agglomerations of the 

 same nature. Sometimes these strata are covered by others 

 of shelly limestone, filled chiefly with the oyster, cockle, 

 and acorn shell. The oysters frequently contain others, 

 which appear to have grown in their cavity. The strata of Sanc ^ton« 

 sandstone are very irregular, most frequently horizontal/ 

 and containing numerous concretions of sandstone, in the 

 shape of pears, apples, and tears, almost always in the 

 same position; which indicates, that these concretions were 

 not formed in the manner of common stalactites, but as the 

 nodules of silex. It appears evident, that the pleonasfs 

 occur in them accidentally, and were brought thither by the 

 waters. I have since found some in the volcanic hill of 



* Secondary calcareous waters appear to have formed this brec- Formation of 

 cia, and to enter into the formation of all the known breccia? and breccia and 

 sandstones. In fact, water loaded with carbonate of lime, flowing sandstones * 

 from the base of the basaltic prisms, has there deposited the earth 

 with which it was impregnated, agglutinated all the broken pieces 

 of the surrounding rocks, and thus formed a breccia. 



Valmahargues, 



