16 TRANSACTIONS, NATtJRAL HISTORY SOCIETY OP GLASGOW. 



opposite or north side of the valley, very strangely shaped stones 

 were got. One that day had been taken out shaped quite like 

 a man's foot. This roused my curiosity, and I wished to see 

 them. So he took me over. We had about two miles to go 

 to the foot of the Campsie Fells and be'yond the fields. We 

 found the lime workings open. A very thick coating of 

 diluvium, till, or boulder clay covers the limestone. The lime- 

 stone comes out in huge masses, and the whole is very much 

 waterworn. When they began to work it at first it was even 

 looser than it is now. It would appear to be a mass of large 

 limestone boulders, or rather the limestone has been split up 

 into large masses, the surfaces and sides of which have been 

 subjected to the violent action of water. The lump he had 

 spoken of had been broken up, but enough remained to show 

 that it had derived its shape from being water- worn. One 

 mass still in situ presented a strong resemblance to a horse's 

 head, ears and all. The limestone contains fossils — Productus, 

 Spinifer, Ammonite, &c. This limestone is above the coal, which 

 is wrought beside it in pits about ten feet deep. It is the 

 same as is found on the south side. In the latter mine there 

 is coal, then blaze or alum schist, and above that the lime- 

 stone. The coal is very full of pyrites. Considerably further 

 down the hill, and nearer to the village, a shale crops out on 

 the roadside, perfectly full of Productus and other fossils. The 

 limestone is very compact, and the fossils in it are few. 



It was on this occasion that I first met with one who after- 

 wards became a well-known geologist and author, and Curator 

 of the Hunterian Museum — Mr. John Young. My note at the 

 time was — " While standing in the crowd at the station, hammer 

 in hand, I was accosted by an intelligent^looking man, who 

 asked if I had been geologising. I said I had, and told him 

 where and with what success. We entered into conversation, 

 and I found he knew a good deal about geology, and had 

 examined the district. He told me of a fine section of encambal 

 limestone on the Glassert, and showed me specimens he had 

 from it." This was the beginning of a valued friendship, which 

 led to interesting correspondence and to more than one delight- 

 ful excursion under the valuable guidance of his local knowledge. 



[Dr. Ferguson then described at some length two other very 



