37 



During volcanic eruptions in the sea-floor in the im- 

 mediate vicinity, nothing is more likely than that boil- 

 ing springs ejected the matter which is now wrought at 

 Elgin and the Findhorn as limestone. We must say, how- 

 ever, that the late Mr. Patrick Duff did not group this 

 formation with the Old Red sandstone, but we think his 

 was the only dissenting voice. 



The lower part of the Findhorn, like the lower part of 

 Moray throughout, is composed of vast deposits of drift, 

 the wearing of the higher lands, caused by the erosion and 

 denudation of former times, while underneath these accu- 

 mulations repose the Old Red beds. Few sections that 

 give an opportunity of geological study occur throughout 

 this region. At Cothall, the cornstone alluded to above 

 is wrought as a limestone, and yields about 75 per cent, of 

 lime. Whether its origin is chemical or not, it supplies a 

 want which, without it, would be very much felt in the 

 district. Crystals of arragonite, and iron pyrites, are 

 found scattered through this limestone, and chalcedony is 

 found associated with it, but it has never yielded any- 

 thing organic. Advancing up the river, cliffs of the Old 

 Red begin to appear, and continue until Sluie is reached, 

 when that system suddenly ceases, and the Silurian — if it is 

 Silurian — takes its place. There is a slight fault here, and 

 in the left bank of the stream the breccia is seen resting 

 against the Silurian. Downwards evidences of false bed- 

 ding are abundant, and the coarse sandstones alternate 

 with lenticular beds of clay. The change in the character 

 of the country becomes strikingly apparent at Sluie. All 

 downward are to be seen the sunny plains and pleasant 

 slopes, while, where the gneiss begins, the district assumes 

 a sterner and grander aspect. Proceeding upward the 

 stream tosses and foams between crags of gneiss, which 

 have been gradually cut out during the countless cen- 



