ITINEIIALOGY* 355 



iiodules become less in size near to the town, where there Mineralogy of 

 » no other stone, an argillaceous sandstone excepted, Shetland, 

 which is much used at Lerwick for building. The hills 

 around Lerwick are in most places absolutely denuded of 

 the peat-moss which had formerly covered them, but 

 which is the common fuel ; so that well might the Stir- 

 lingshire parson exclaim, " I see nothing but the skeleton 

 of a departed country," when his eyes were directed td 

 this scene. 



Return to Scalloway in a day or two. West of Mr. 

 Scott's house, find the micaceous rocks to succeed th« 

 limestone ; veins of quartz often pervade these micaceous 

 rocks, and sometimes large veins of red felspar. The 

 micaceous rocks are succeeded, as we go westward, by- 

 granite, which forms the principal rocks of the westera 

 part of the Mainland. On the WarUHilly find in many 

 places, where the surface was broken, bog iron-ore, aris- 

 ing from the decomposition of vegetables or of the rocks. 

 Sail by a coast partly micaceous, partly granitic, to 

 Selivoe, where the bay was filled with innumerable me- 

 dusae . This name is a corruption of Silvoe, which signu 

 hesherring-'bai/; but no herrings are now taken in it. 

 Walk from Mr. Barclay's manse to Bixetvoe, another 

 deep bay that intersects this part of the island. The 

 rocks here are of granite, gneiss, and micaceous schistus. 

 These continue round the headlands, in a few places mixed 

 with limestone, 5s far as Selivoe. The schistus is some- 

 times formed into millstones. It is curious, that the 

 stones of the hand-mills, now common in Orkney, are of 

 a similar rock, which has been said to have been brought 

 from Norway for this purpose, in ancient times. 



In crossing the micaceous hills from Sandvoe to Sensting 

 Manse, find, on the summit of a hill, a large white rock, 

 called marble by the natives. It is composed of very 

 large masses of pure white felspar and white quartz, with 

 here and there a little silver-coloured mica. It may be 

 considered as a granite, in which the constituent parts 

 are uncommonly large and distinct. The whole seemed 

 to me to fill a vein in micaceous schistus; but of this I 

 could not be certain, as the hill was thickly covered by 

 ' vturf and short heath.— «In my walks around Selivoe, find 



only 



