196 Miscellanies. 
stones, resembling those which are cast out by volcanoes. Capt. 
Bradshaw, of Beverly, of the ship Lagodan, brought to our office 
yesterday, a specimen of the same sort of stones, which he picked 
up on the 27th of April, 1835, in lat. 13° N. lon. 108° W. Capt. B. 
sailed about twenty miles through these stones, with which the top of 
the water was thickly covered. It will be seen, by a comparison of 
the latitudes and longitudes, that Capt. Bradshaw was six hundred 
miles distant from the place where the stones were picked up by the 
other ship.— Salem Gazette. 
10. Visit to Iceland.—Extracts from an account of a visit to Ice- 
land, by M. Evcene Rosert.—Bulletin de la Société Géologique 
de France. ‘Tom. vu. Feuilles 1-2. 
The siliceous concretions formed by the Geysers of Iceland, cover 
an extent of four leagues in length, throughout which traces of an- 
cient geysers arenumerous. We have hence been enabled to observe 
this singular formation under all its different forms; passing by in- 
_ sensible shades from a loose friable state, the result of a rapid deposi- 
tion, to the most compact and transparent. We have not only ob- 
‘served impressions of the leaves of the birch tree, of equiseta and 
different grasses, but the branches of the birch are in many places 
very distinctly recognizable, presenting much the appearance of our 
agatized woods. At the present time not one of the plants here oc- 
curring, are found on the island, and it may be considered probable 
that their destruction is owing to the invading silica. 
The numerous thermal springs, in the midst of which the Geysers 
are situated, occupy large valleys in the interior of the island. 
Appearances indicate that these waters proceed from deep crevices, 
in which they have been heated by contact with the volcanic fires. 
It is worthy of note that the action of the Geysers is never more 
magnificent than during an inundation of the valley by rain. The 
rivers proceeding from these springs often resemble milk in appear- 
ance, owing to the argillaceous bole which they take up in their pas- 
sage among the siliceous concretions. Such are the white rivers of 
Mt. Hecla, like all the mountains of Iceland, is entirely covered 
with snow, and not the least smoke appears about its summit. The 
obsidian found in a rolled state on its side, and the pumice stone, 
form a bed of thirty feet. Fragments of branches of the birch tree 
occur in the midst of this bed, the remains of the ancient forests of 
the island which the volcanic eruptions have entirely destroyed. 
