AGATIZED FOSSILS 



21 



Almost every one has noticed that as a 

 carcass decomposes the hair remains 

 longer than any part except the bones. 

 It is not hard to imagine how it would be 

 possible for tufts to become immersed in 

 water containing the rock forming ele- 

 ments, and be incased in stone and pre- 

 served through the succession of ages, 

 a page in nature's great history. 



The third and fourth illustrations are 

 of specimens of agatized coral. Figure 

 three is called honeycomb coral, and is by 

 far the most abundant. Specimens like 

 Figure four are rarely found. In these 

 the spaces between the limestone are 

 filled with agate making the whole a 

 mass in which the original coral is rep- 

 resented by the texture of the stone. 

 These as well as the other agate fossils 

 take a very high polish, and are valuable 

 for the making of agate jewelry, as well 

 as for specimens. 



The stones of which these agate beds 

 are composed are washed from the great 

 banks of quaternary drift against which 

 the waves of the Pacific are eternally 

 hurling themselves. A fresh supply is 

 ever being brought out and prepared in 

 nature's great lapidary for the use of 

 man. They were not formed in the part 

 of the world now found, but were moved 

 there by some of nature's great agencies. 



The illustrations are from photographs 

 from sections by the author, and it may 

 be of interest to some to know how they 

 were made. Figure 2 is of a stone which 



FIG. 2. REMAINS OF THE HAIR OF A PRE- 

 HISTORIC ANIMAL. 



was cut and polished for the making of 

 jewelry. In the taking of this photo- 

 graph the stone was fitted in an opening 

 in a piece of cardboard. The cardboard 

 was placed in the end of a long box 

 facing the light. This was done to pre- 

 vent reflections on the polished surface. 

 The camera was placed at the other end 

 of the box and the photograph taken of 

 the light transmitted through the stone. 

 The remainder of the illustrations are 

 from phc ^graphs made without the use 

 of the camera at all. The dark room was 

 used instead. The specimens from which 

 these were made were very thin slabs 

 sawed for the purpose, and the photo- 

 graphs were made in a very novel and 

 entirely original way. A dry plate was 

 laid on the dark room table, and the thin 



FIG. 3. AGATIZED FOSSIL SOMETIMES CALLED HONEYCOMB CORAL. 



