38 Phosphate Rocks of South Carolina, 
will be less perfect than those that were buried by 
some sudden convulsion before decay begun. The 
harder parts of plants, as roots, stems, and nuts, are 
more likely to be preserved than the soft and succu- 
lent portions. 
“The shells, bones, teeth and scales of animals will 
be found when all the fleshy parts have perished; and 
the larger and harder bones of a skeleton may be the 
only ones that escape destruction.” 
Something quite analogous to the change of the 
outcrop of the Santee Beds has taken place with the 
exposed portions of the Ashley Marls, which have 
been torn from their mother-bed, and redeposited as 
explained, page 27, and exemplified in Plate II. 
The important agents in the latter case being not 
anly water-holding Carbonic Acid in solution, whereby 
the lime was dissolved particle by particle, but the 
fecal matter from the animals named, would furnish 
the Phosphoric Acid to supply that portion of the lime 
dissolved out of the mass, and thus convert these 
nodules into a Phosphate-rock. 
Additional evidence may be afforded by the fact, 
that the bones of land animals, as found intermingled 
with the nodules or Phosphate-rocks, when recently 
taken from the living animal, contain about 51 or 52 
per cent. of Phosphate of Lime, but when associated 
as they must have been for centuries with the mate- 
rials of the Phosphate-rock Basins, they necessarily . 
wmbibed an additional amount of this essence, and now 
yield upon analysis snxety-two per cent. of Phosphate 
of Lime! And where did this additional amount of 
