Central Parts of Victoria. 59 
A few miles south-east of Perry’s home station, I came 
upon a stratum of a granitic character, about one chain 
broad ; and, which is particularly worthy of notice, as it is 
a species of rock entirely new. The stones on the surface of 
‘this stratum are all more or less rounded, and quartz cry- 
stals are remarkable, forming regular dehexahedrons. 
The whole of Perry’s run eastward of the McIvor gold-fields 
is of an auriferous character. The stratification, which con- 
sists of slate alternating with quartzy rock, is almost perpen- 
dicular, and pursues a gently undulating course, whose 
general run tends nearly north and south. At Mclvor I 
observed boulders of dolerite of considerable size, and haying 
‘a peculiar depression on their summits, extending across the 
auriferous strata. 
From information which I received through the kindness 
of Mr. Chauncey, I was enabled to obtain chromium, anti- 
‘mony, chlorite slate, and a considerable number of petrifac- 
tions, on the mountainous ranges to the north of Heathcote. 
The whole of the strata on these ranges (Mount Ida) consist 
of quartzy rocks containing rhodicrinites. I am of opinion 
that it is the Cambrian, and not the upper Silurian formation, 
‘which is there represented; in support of which I refer to 
the following passage from Lyell :— 
“Below the silurian strata in Great Britain is a vast 
thickness of stratified rocks, for the most part slaty and de- 
void of fossils. In some places a few organic remains are 
detected, but they are usually obscure, and whether the 
species will prove to be sufficiently distinct to entitle the 
rocks containing them to rank as an independent group, may 
be doubted. They attain a thickness of several hundred 
yards, and are chiefly formed of slaty sandstone and conglo- 
merate, with brachiopoda and a few zoophytes.” i 
At the Mie Mie Inn, I met with a stratum of slate; and 
‘in attempting to ascertain its degree of cleavage, split it 
with perfect ease into thicknesses of pasteboard, whence its 
adaptability to the roofing of houses is at once obvious, and 
needs no comment. I have also seen it in slates of great 
‘size split naturally. 
The Black Ranges consist of a compact globular mass of 
granite surrounded with slate. Imbedded in this granite is 
a fine felspathic stone, similar in character to that met with 
in the dolerite at the McIvor Gold Fields. 
On certain points of this ridge, covered with sandy alluvial 
soil, are found specimens of smoky: quartz and black-towr-- 
maline (schérl) imbedded in hkaoline or decomposed felspar. 
