Essay on the Transition Rocks of the Cataraqui. 77 



a yellowish white coating or crust, of some thickness. The colum- 

 nar portion of the stone is also then well defined on the upper out- 

 side, like a chain of sutures or septae, by faint brown lines which fol- 

 low its contour, thus. See fig. 2. 



The columns seldom terminate sharply or abruptly, but are round- 

 ed or bent, as already stated, over the top. See fig. 3. 



Its resinous lustre together with its soft feel, would almost tempt an 

 observer to say, that it was a bituminous coating merely, but trial 

 proves otherwise ; it is probably a new variety of shale, in which 

 there is a good deal of iron ; a good chemical examination will how- 

 ever, solve the difficulty. In the mean time, in order to afford all 

 the information in my power, I make one more sketch of a beautiful 

 little morceau, which is highly characterized by its graceful and deep 

 flutings, the deepest fluting being at A, fig. 4. 



It must be remembered, that the flat base is always actually the 

 top of the columns, or in fact that all the figures, as well as the third, 

 should be reversed. ' 



When this essay was commenced, the writer believed that these 

 beautiful specimens of nature's minute architecture were always per- 

 fectly vertical as regarded the bed of the layer of limestone in which 

 they were inserted ; but in taking a geological walk over Point Henry 

 yesterday, he saw, in the more compact stratum already mentioned, 

 proof to the contrary, as in one hard specimen alone were several 

 columns variously inclined, and almost curved in another, which ap- 

 peared to be imperfectly formed, and near which were large amor- 

 phous lumps of the same shaly matter. The difficulty of separa- 

 ting this particular species of the transition limestone had probably 

 been the reason why these appearances had not been observed pre- 

 viously ; still however, whatever was the inclination, and it was gen- 

 erally very small, or whatever was the disposition of the columns, 

 the fibres or prisms were always parallel to each other, and it is as 

 well to mention now that this curious substance always shews two 

 similar although distinct faces, namely, that of the face on the matrix 

 or great body of the limestone, and that of the face on the limestone 

 nucleus of the columnar body. The following is a sketch of the 

 piece taken from the Falls of Niagara, in which it will be observed, 

 the columnar appearance is coarser and less fluted, although it is per- 

 fectly distinct. The specimen is from the hard cherty rock full of 

 siliceous particles which glitter in the sun like so many sparks, and is 

 the more singular from being found in a rock so different from that 

 of the transition limestone of the Cataraqui. 



