BLOJIIDON TO BKIAn ISLAND. 97 



red clay; above the gut, the three-mile ledge has a rough, rocky- 

 bottom, on -which ancliors are frequently lost. Each of these ledges 

 is about a mile in -\vidth, the outer one something more; between 

 them the bottom is soft mud." 



The trap of Digby Neck is remarkable for the large quantity of 

 jasper and other coloured varieties of quartz contained in it. Red 

 jasper is especially abundant ; amethyst, stilbite, and laumonite are 

 also frequent. I have collected all these minerals near Sandy Cove, 

 as -well as micaceous specular iron ore, a mineral -which I have not 

 observed elsewhere in the trap district, though it abounds in our more 

 ancient igneous and altered rocks, and is also a not infrequent product 

 of modern volcanic action ; the iron being apparently sublimed in a 

 state of vapour from the intensely heated mass of molten rock beneath. 

 This is probably its origin at Sandy Cove, where it occurs in brilliant 

 little crystalline plates embedded in a quartzose matrix, and projecting 

 from the sides of cavities in the fissures of the trap. Its occurrence 

 here lends some countenance to the conjecture already stated, that a 

 focus of igneous activity may have been in or near this place. It is 

 not in sufficient quantity to be of importance for mining purposes. 



At the extremity of Digby Neck, we find another deep transverse 

 ravine cut through the ridge, and separating Long Island, which 

 geologically is a perfect continuation of the Neck. The sides of this 

 strait, which is named Petite Passage, as far as I examined them, 

 consist principally of amygdaloid, the cavities of which have been 

 lined with bright green chlorite before they have been filled with 

 crystalline zeolitic matter. 



The water of Petite Passage is beautifully clear, the tides rush 

 through it with great force, and its rocky bottom is covered with sea- 

 weeds ; the finer and more beautiful varieties of which are very 

 abundant on this outlying tract of rocky coast. It is probably the 

 abundance of these seaweeds on the " ledges " before mentioned, that 

 supports the marine creatures that attract to these coasts the cod, 

 torsk, pollack, haddock, halibut, and herring that abound in summer, 

 and furnish a comfortable subsistence to the numerous fishermen who 

 inhabit Long Island and Briar Island. The great Albecore or King 

 Mackarel, Thynnus vulgaris? the Sea Wolf, Anarrhicas lupus ; and 

 the Sturgeon, Acc/'penser oxyrldnchus, are also caught in these waters 

 and in St Mary's Bay, but are not much vahied by the fishermen. 



On reaching the extremity of Long Island, another strait, the 

 Grand Passage, appears. On the opposite side of this, we see the 

 thriving village of Westport, on Briar Island, the ultima thule of Nova 

 Scotia iu this direction, and one of the most active and intelligent 



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