42 White Lias Limestone. 



mine, magnesia, oxide of iron and muriate of soda, are all found 

 in our rocks, and these materials held in solution, at the time the 

 lias beds were found, might have been deposited here. I have seen 

 nothing in any other place that bears any resemblance to this bed. 

 It lies between two distinct deposits of white limestone, and con- 

 tains no fossi} remains that I could discover. The bed is a very 

 curious mineral earth, and might be called a secondary chlorite. — 

 4 feet. 



5. White lias limestone ; structure compact ; color yellowish 

 white, where exposed to the air, but a greyish white in the bed, and 

 when first broken. Its fracture is slightly conchoidal, with an earthy 

 surface ; adheres strongly to the tongue, and is composed of a 

 nearly pure carbonate of lime, carbonic acid and a little carburet of 

 iron. In its properties and appearance it approaches more nearly to 

 chalJc than any other mineral I have seen in the valley of the Ohio. 

 It is cut easily with the knife, is perfectly smooth, and on wood, leaves 

 a streak similar to chalk, but is too hard to be used for the same 

 purposes. It stands the weather without exfoliating, and w^ould 

 make a most beautiful building stone ; being easily wrought it could 

 be worked into tomb stones, and various other useful articles. Its 

 specific gravity is 2.08. — 8 feet. 



6. A variety of calcareous tufa, reposing on the compact lime- 

 stone. It is porous, as if pierced in all directions by small worms. 

 Color, greyish yellow, with many particles of spar intermixed, as if 

 deposited in a portion of the cells, giving the surface a glimmering 

 appearance. It is coarse grained, harder than the pure carbonate 

 below, and mixed with other materials both argillaceous and are- 

 naceous, not found in that, although it is evidently a kindred de- 

 posit. Streaks resembling yellow ochre are scattered through it. 

 — 6 feet. 



7. Hard sparry lime rock ; light dove color tinged with brown, in 

 beds of about a foot in thickness ; breaks into irregular masses, very 

 compact and fine grained. The lower part of the bed resting on 

 the tufa is coarse grained and tinged with yellow. No fossil re- 

 mains were noticed, although it was examined very carefully for this 

 purpose. — 30 feet. 



8. Sand rock ; a very thick deposit ; the lower half of the bed is 

 stratified in thin layers of a few inches, with considerable mica. The 

 upper half compact, rather coarse grained, composed of sharp sand, 

 with a few scattering scales of white mica, and cemented by lime ; 

 color, fight ash. It splits freely, and makes good stone for architec- 



