42 REVIEWS — CANADIAN ORGANIC REMAINS. 



the country may not have had something to do with the development 

 of disease to the extraordinary extent, and of the mahgnant character 

 above referred to. 



The rock immediately below the surface is sandstone, and the pri- 

 mary as well as the secondary formation of limestone crops out in the 

 beds of at least one, possibly of several, of the creeks. Between the 

 strata of limestone there is often a deposit of gypsum, sulphate of 

 lime, and, in places, this deposit is so great that it forms the basis of 

 a considerable commerce with Pennsylvania and Ohio, coal being 

 generally brought thence in exchange. 



"Whether or not the sulphate of lime, although a very insoluble salt, 

 affects the water of the natural springs, this is certain, that they are 

 all impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen to a very great extent. 

 Indeed the water in the creeks which these springs supply (Boston 

 Creek, McKenzie Creek, Decomer's Creek, and others) is so strongly 

 charged with the gas, that it offends the senses very perceptibly to 

 travel along their banks. The water in the well of Cayuga gaol is 

 slightly impregnated with the same offensive gas, and there are few, if 

 any, springs in that neighbourhood, in the water of which it cannot be 

 detected, even by the taste. The springs between Cayuga and Can- 

 boro' are, in addition, strongly charged with carbonic acid gas (free), 

 which gives it a distinctly pungent flavor, and renders it pleasant and 

 palateable. The wells are here very deep, in some cases sixty feet. 

 The diminished pressure of the atmosphere may have an effect in 

 allowing the carbonic acid gas to escape, which it does, in numerous 

 bubbles, some of which rise as soon as the water is poured out, others 

 gradually form and remain clinging to the side. If a glass of this 

 water be allowed to stand for about twelve hours, all the carbonic acid 

 gas will have escaped, and the sulphuretted hydrogen alone remaining, 

 its characteristic and offensive taste becomes plainly perceptible. 



REVIEWS. 



Figures and Descriptions of Canadian Organic Remains : Decade III. 

 [Issued by the Geological Survey of Canada.] Montreal, 1858. 



It has long been a subject of regret to Canadian and other workers in 

 the field of Palaeontology, that the valuable and instructive collections, 

 brought together by the Geological Survey, should be deprived of half 



