71 NOTES ON GEOLOGY AND HOTANY OF DIGHY NKCK— RAILEY. 



in others by nai-row tiouglis, nvIuIu aci-oss l)otli, at iiitorvals, 

 stretch transverse (k^pressions, al\va3's rehitively deep, and in 

 Rome instances sinking far l)ek)w tide leveh In these hitter 

 cases, especially at Sandy Cove and in the Petite P(»ssa<;e, tlie 

 whole structure of the peninsula is aiiniirahl}' exposed, and 

 in the cragj:^y bluti's which border them is determined scenery 

 which in many i-e.spects may well be compared with much of 

 that in the vicinity ot 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 beacii there 

 be, is often hard to tind and in places (juite impossible. 



As would naturally be inferred from such diverse physical 

 features, the depth and chai-acter of the soil over the |)eninsula 

 exhibit similai' diversity. Thus,(Mi the lowlands of the isthmus, 

 between AmuipoHs J^)asin and St. Maiy's Bay, where the under- 

 lying rocks are saiidstones, the soils derived thei-efrom are natur- 

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

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

 this tract, on the other hand, the land I'apidly becomes stonj', 

 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, Imt between these, and especially on the 

 transverse valley's, the soils are both deeper and richer, giving 

 support to numei'ous prosperous farms. The proportion of poor 

 to good land increases progressively to the westward, and in 

 Long an<l Briar Islands bai'e ridges of rock are separated only 

 by bogs and swamps. 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 



The general geological structure of Tigby 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 



