76 MR BAIRD ON THE " FAIRY STONES. 



curiosities, and no other water ? But, besides this, the great variety 

 in the shape of the stones themselves, is a strong objection against 

 this supposition. For, were they formed merely by friction, we should 

 expect of course that they would all uniformly assume the circular 

 form ; and that, instead of finding one perfectly flat on one side and 

 roundish on the other, and instead of the sharp angles and projecting 

 lines we observe in others, as beautifidly marked as if they had been 

 turned by art, we shoidd find them of one uniform indistinct round- 

 ness, and certainly without the beautiful chai'acter of the projecting 

 lines already alluded to. And with regard to the second supposition, 

 it may be sufiicient to state that no amygdaloidal rocks appear to 

 occur in all this neighbourhood, nor any other rock in which nodules 

 of this description could be imbedded. The rocks, where visible, 

 appear in general to be stratified, the fundamental ones at least being 

 greywacke and greywacke slate. The other rocks I cannot take upon 

 me at this moment to name (unless to suspect that there may be slight 

 traces of the old red sandstone), for the only regular visit I ever paid 

 to the glen was a hurried one, and that too when the shades of even- 

 ing were beginning rapidly to close around me. Dim and indistinct, 

 however, though the surrounding objects were now becoming, enough 

 of light was still left to guide me to another theory upon the subject, 

 which possesses the merit at least of being a simple one. I imagine, 

 then, that these stones are in fact little else than a peculiar kind of 

 stalactite, and, generally speaking, formed in much the same way, 

 although their component parts are somewhat different from ordinary 

 stalactites. On several parts, accordingly, of the banks of this dean 

 there flow little trickling streams of water, and in one place the bank 

 is composed entirely of a stiff tenacious alluvial clay, with boulders of 

 different rocks and of various sizes firmly fixed in it, and fi'equently 

 projecting considerably beyond the surface of the clay of which the 

 bank is composed — (a specimen of this kind I at one time had, but 

 cannot now exhibit it, which I am sorry for). Down this slope water 

 is continually trickling, highly saturated, as we may suppose, with the 

 particles of the fine clay, which, as it flows, it of course deposits either 

 in small hollows on the surface of these boulders, or round any little 

 inequality or obstruction on their surface to which it can attach itself. 

 Thus, for example, in any rolled mass, such as that now before me, we 

 can easily suppose that there may be many little inequalities either 

 higher or lower than its general surface, — that water regularly trick- 

 ling over this, highly saturated with the particles of a fine and tena- 

 cious clay, meeting with these inequahties and obstructions, would find 

 something on which, or around which, to form a deposition, — that a 

 nucleus would thus be formed, and that, as the water kept trickling, 

 layer after layer would be gradually added, until at length the deposi- 

 tion would increase into the form and size which these stones generally 

 ^ssume. Such I am inclined to consider as the general mode of for- 



