Transition Rocks of the Cataraqui. 103 



of which, although highly clear and satisfactory, are so uncommon 

 that some geologists who have seen them, are unwilling to attribute 

 them to any other cause than weathering. Having had the op- 

 portunity of seeing them almost daily, and in many points of view 

 not contemplated by those who entertain doubts concerning them, I 

 am, perhaps, better acquainted than they, with their /orw and press- 

 ure, and as, in the great improvements and additions now making to 

 Kingston, they will shortly be swallowed up or lost from our view, 

 I shall, in my next communication, give three drawings, made with 

 requisite care, showing them in elevation, sideways, and in their bed 

 or floor ; and, leaving to better informed geologists the task of in- 

 venting a theory from them, I shall content myself with merely stating 

 that the beds in which they are found are those which, at Haldimand 

 Cove, are nearly or quite in conjunction with the sienite, and on the 

 borders of the lake are uniformly bassets, jutting out over the great 

 gulf which contains its waters, their thickness being usually not 

 above two or at most three feet ; and in the octagons, which are the 

 most usual forms, as at Murney's Point, the upper and lower, as well 

 as the vertical sides are straight and almost or quite equal, whilst 

 the angular faces are slightly concave and much less in size. The 

 drawings, however, will give a much more correct idea of the for- 

 mation than language can afford. It is probable that it is much more 

 extensive than .what has been already noticed, for, in several instances, 

 in consequence of the very extensive series of cracks and fissures 

 running in an opposite direction to the regular partings of the prisms 

 which the weather and the waters have created, it can scarcely be 

 discovered, when the observer is walking over the large flat tables 

 of limestone on the borders of the lake, whilst frequently even an 

 attentive observer finds it necessary to look for some time at a basset 

 before he can discover the regular forms, either in elevation or profile, 

 owing to the rounding away of the angles from exposure ; and, in other 

 cases, as at Haldimand Cove, the crystallization is less perfect, and 

 to detect it, requires much examination, even in newly exposed por- 

 tions from the quarry. In other cases, again, it is as plain as could 

 be wished, as, for instance, at Murney's Point and just beyond Stu- 

 art's Point, where stands the celebrated loyer's tree, which bears the 

 poet Moore's name, and where it is said that he composed two of 

 the most beautiful of his songs. 



I had drawn these sketches purposely for Mr. Finch, and hope, as 

 he examined very minutely into the nature of this new variety of 



