228 Miscellaneous Notices of Mineral Localities, $& 



piece of sandstone precisely resembling a variety of this 

 rock found in the coal formation on that river. And on pro- 

 ceeding southerly, to Southbury, I was agreeably surprised 

 to find, not only a continuation of the greenstone, even to 

 the banks of the Housatonic, but also several other varieties 

 of the sandstones and shales of the coal formation, and also 

 bituminous limestone, In fact, it is a real coal formation ; 

 whose northern limit is in Woodbury, and its southern on the 

 banks of the Housatonic ; and Dr. Smith of Southbury 

 informed me, that explorations had been made in that place 

 for coal. He mentioned also that an impression of scales, 

 probably those of a fish, had been found in the bituminous 

 limestone ; and that in the greenstone occur chalcedony, 

 agates, calcareous spar, &c. ; also satin spar in the lime- 

 stone. If I did not misunderstand him, a vein of sulphuret 

 of arsenic was formerly explored in the southern part of 

 the town ; though the pit is now filled. He said likewise, 

 that the rose quartz of this town, may still be obtained in 

 abundance, though blasting is now requisite. 



But the most interesting object Dr. Smith offered to our 

 inspection, was a siliceous petrifaction of a trunk of a tree, 

 eight or ten inches in diameter, found in Southbury. The 

 man, who discovered it, mistook it for the unaltered stump 

 of a tree ; and on attempting to fix his axe in it, he so bat- 

 tered the instrument as almost to ruin it, upon which, he 

 flew into passion, and fell to breaking this fine petrifaction to 

 pieces. Dr. Smith however, obtained one piece, a few 

 inches long, of the entire trunk, and it is rare to see a pet- 

 rifaction exhibiting the back and solid part more perfectly. 

 I think Dr. Smith told me it occurred in a swamp. 



A strong desire to reach New Haven before the College 

 commencement, induced us to break away from the miner- 

 al attractions, which the reader will see, were here presented 

 to us. Yet no mineralogist would think of leaving Munroe 

 unvisited, when in its vicinity. We therefore hurried for- 

 ward to that place. 



September 11th, Munroe. Lane's Mine — I suspect the 

 gangue of this mine, which is quartz, constitutes an immense 

 bed in gneiss, and not a vein : in one part of the exploration, 

 the gneiss appears above the quartz, in contact with it, dip- 

 ping a few degrees, to the northeast. It may possibly, how^ 

 ever, be a bowlder. The mine is yet explored only ten or 

 twelve feet deep. 



