NOTES ON GEOLOGY AND BOTANY OF DIGBY NECK BAILEY. 71 



in others by narrow troughs, while across both, at intervals, 

 stretch transverse depressions, always relatively deep, and in 

 some instances sinking far below tide level. In these latter 

 cases, especially at Sandy Cove and in the Petite Passage, the 

 whole structure of the peninsula is admirably exposed, and 

 in the craggy bluffs which border them is determined scenery 

 which in many respects may well be compared with much of 

 that in the vicinity of the Giant's Causeway, in Ireland. So 

 high, indeed, and so steep is much of the shore, particularly upon 

 the southern side, that a safe descent to the beach, if beach there 

 be, is often hard to find and in places quite impossible. 



As would naturally be inferred from such diverse physical 

 features, the depth and character of the soil over the peninsula 

 exhibit similar diversity. Thus, on the lowlands of the isthmus, 

 between Annapolis Basin and St. Mary's Bay, where the under- 

 lying rocks are sandstones, the soils derived therefrom are natur- 

 ally also sandy, though, like the corresponding soils of Annapolis 

 Basin, often quite productive. Nearing the hills to the north of 

 this tract, on the other hand, the land rapidly becomes stony, 

 through the distribution of drift, while the hill-slopes themselves 

 are thickly covered with scattered blocks of all sizes. Again on 

 the tops of the hills the soil-covering is usually very scanty and 

 often wholly wanting, but between these, and especially on the 

 transverse valleys, the soils are both deeper and richer, giving 

 support to numerous prosperous farms. The proportion of poor 

 to good land increases progressively to the westward, and in 

 Long and Briar Islands bare ridges of rock are separated only 

 by bogs and swamps. 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 



The general geological structure of Digby Neck has long 

 been known, and has been made the subject of description by 

 several writers, the most prominent being Sir William Dawson. 



As in the region bordering the Annapolis Valley, of which 

 that under consideration is the direct extension, there are in 

 Digby Neck and its vicinity two groups of rocks, the one sedi- 

 mentary, consisting chiefly of arenaceous beds, of a bright red 



