18 Mr. Konig on the Rock Specimens 



oldest formations of fletz sandstone, the bunt-sandstein of 

 Werner ; and the slaty grey sandstone, of which specimens 

 were found, may possibly be the sandstein-schiefer of the same 

 geologist, which is said to be a characteristic concomitant of 

 this second sandstone. 



There is nothing particularly ramarkable in the specimens 

 from Byam Martin's Island : they are few in number, consisting 

 of two varieties of granite, both with bright-red feldspar, red 

 close-grained sandstone passing into compact, and a ferruginous 

 sandstone, together with small fragments of flint slate. 



The rock specimens from Melville Island, though little can 

 be said respecting the relative situation of most of them (they 

 being chiefly rolled pieces, or casual fragments,) yet form a more 

 complete series than the others, and some of them are by no 

 means uninteresting. There are two or three varieties of gra- 

 nite, gneiss, and syenite ; the latter (from Winter Harbour, and 

 the north shore of the island,) of a larger grain and with red 

 feldspar, contains much green epidote, and is very like that 

 which occurs in several parts of the island of Jersey*. In 

 another variety from Winter Harbour, which contains some dis- 

 seminated iron pyrites, the hornblende appears in a more com- 

 pact state, and in the shape of irregular veins and threads. 

 Another variety from the same place is rather remarkable from 

 its exhibiting here and there small cavities, drused by minute 

 quartz crystals, and coated by scaly red ironstone. In another 

 specimen, small grains of ironstone, attracted by the magnet, 

 were seen, and, upon examination, found to be titaniferous. The 

 few pieces of hornblende rock from this island, seem to be de- 

 tached from boulders found in Winter Harbour ; among them 

 is also a specimen of a slaty compound of hornblende, mica, 

 and red feldspar. 



The principal formation of the island appears to be the fletz 

 sandstone, with the subordinate one of coal and ironstone. 

 The structure of the clifl^'s along a considerable extent of the 

 northern shore of Barrow's Strait, exhibiting, beside horizontal 



,* See my description of it in Plebs's Account of Jersey, p. 233. 



