Mineralogy and Geology of Nova Scotia. 225 
siliceous and calcareous sinter. The veins of jasper present 
geodes of quartz and amethyst, enclosing crystals of transparent 
white chabasie measuring nearly an inch across the rhombic 
planes ; they are usually indented by the quartz crystals, over 
which they are scattered. 
The next place worthy of notice is Sandy Cove, about five 
miles from the last described locality. This cove is the largest 
indentation on the coast of St. Mary’s Bay, and from its favorable 
situation, it is considered the finest harbour. Its surrounding 
walls consist of trap, rising from the strand in huge sheets, nearly 
in a vertical position, and sometimes divided transversely into 
separate blocks or tables, that lie one above another with their 
connecting surfaces perfectly flat. They do not exhibit in their 
structure, the beautiful symmetry observed in the columns of Little 
River and Brier’s Island; from which also, they differ in being 
of coarser texture, and in containing a large portion of green 
earth, by which they assume a distinct greenish hue. This 
difference in mineralogical composition and external figure, which 
we have also noticed at other places, seems owing to certain 
local causes, of which we shall speak in another place. It is a 
difference which is observed no less distinctly in other countries. 
Nearer the head of the cove, the precipice gradually falls 
away, and a bank of brecciated and amygdaloidal trap takes its 
place, and abounds with nodules and geodes of many beautifully 
crystallized minerals. Their inner surfaces are sometimes lined 
with a delicate white filamentous substance, resembling fibres of 
cotton ; apparently fibrous mesotype, similar to that found by Dr. 
M’Culloch on the Isle of Skye. We also met with interesting 
specimens of quartz, exhibiting the form of the primary obtuse 
rhomboid, in a few instances perfect, and measuring more than 
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