OF THE SOUTHERN ATLANTIC STATES. 101 



containing a few layers of small white pebbles. The marl is 

 nearly as prolific in shells as the same formation at the natm-al 

 well. The species, however, are not the same, as will be seen 

 from the appended catalogue, (p. 106.) More than fifty species 

 were collected, of which eight are recent, and those in italics new. 

 Comminuted shells and fine sand form the marl stratum, and 

 these are either converted into a solid mass not easily broken, or 

 remain unconsolidated. The sandstone beneath is in one place 

 a compact siliceous mass, but a little way off it changes to a 

 coarse pebbly rock, consisting of small, rounded quartz pebbles 

 of a dark color ; and then again it becomes so calcareous that with 

 proper care it might be burned to tolerable lime. The pebbly 

 rock or conglomerate contains shells, and corals, and small sharks' 

 teeth, in abundance. Large teeth are rare, as are bones, which 

 are said to have been found in it. The shells themselves have 

 generally disappeared and left only the casts : these, though very 

 abundant and perfect, render it extremely difficult to determine 

 the species. The genera are principally Cyprcca, Cirrus^ Gryphea, 

 OstrcBtt, AnthopIiyUum, Nautilus, &c. 



The proximity of this locality to the wharves and the town of 

 Wilmington, would render it easy for strangers to obtain speci- 

 mens thence. The marl is not here esteemed as a manure, prob- 

 ably because the soil is so sandy that the shells must decompose 

 very slowly in it. By first applying large quantities of clay to it, 

 and then the marl, no doubt very beneficial effects would result. 



To the south of Wilmington I noticed the marl again on Little 

 river, near its mouth, just over the boundary line in South Caro- 

 lina. The shells closely resemble those at Wilmington, the most 

 abundant being large Areas ; but they were all tightly cemented 

 together by a ferruginous cement, forming a solid ledge on the 

 edges of the water. This is the farthest point to the south where 

 I observed this deposit ; but I was told it occurs again on the 

 Waccamaw river. 



In treating of the tertiary formations of our country, I have 

 preferred using the conventional names adopted by M]-. Conrad, 

 of upper, medial, and lower tertiary, to those of pliocene, miocene, 

 and eocene, applied to similar formations in Europe. The former 



