136 Fish Beds and a Fossil Foot Mark in New Jersey. 



its character, tripartite, massive, or thick-toed, the two lateral toes 

 very short compared with the middle one ; length about six 

 inches, breadth three and a half inches. The claws or nails of 

 the lateral toes are well defined, and project from the bottom of 

 the toe about four tenths of an inch. It appears to be a common 

 variety of the O. tuberosus of Prof. Hitchcock, and is nearly 

 represented in figure 21, Plate 37, of his final Report, in quarto, 

 on the Geology of Massachusetts. 



In the same quarries I observed numerous slabs and fragments 

 which exhibit fossil impressions of rain drops, or hail ; and also 

 natural casts of the same in relief. There is great variety in 

 these appearances ; and some are of the most perfect character : 

 while, in not a few cases, the oblique form of the impressions 

 serves to show that the drops were driven by a strong wind. 

 These impressions and their casts seem to indicate a nearly hori- 

 zontal surface as pertaining to these beds, at the period when 

 the impressions were made and overlaid by the superior deposits. 

 The foot mark, also, exhibits no lateral inclination or obliquity 

 in its form, that might correspond with the present high slope of 

 these strata, which 1 estimate at about twenty degrees. 



I obtained also a good specimen of ripple mark at these quar- 

 ries. This appears to be not wind-ripple but water-ripple ; and 

 on the lower surface of this slab, within half an inch of the rip- 

 ple, some marks of shrinkage cracks may be seen, such as occur 

 in a drying surface of mud or silt. From this we may infer 

 that the current of water which caused the ripple was produced 

 by rain, or other transient cause. 



The facts above noticed seem to render it probable that many 

 foot marks, of various species, will be found in the red sandstone 

 rocks of New Jersey ; and that the time is fast approaching when 

 the relations of this formation to those of the New Red system 

 in European countries, can be profitably examined. Indeed, the 

 considerations already adduced by Professor Hitchcock go far to 

 establish the identity or equivalence of these formations. 



New York, November 10th, 1842. 



