Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia. 329 



which caused the weighty mass to fall from the contiguous rocks 

 into the sea beneath, leaving a wide chasm through which the 

 tides form a rapid and dangerous " race-way.'" The name of 

 this cape doubtless originated from an opinion of its having 

 been thus separated from the adjacent precipice, an event 

 which occurred before the memory of the oldest inhabitants 

 of the country. This cape forms the southern boundary of 

 a strait called by the inhabitants " the gut," which connects 

 the waters of the Bay of Fundy with the Basin of Mines. 

 It presents a lofty mural precipice extending southward, and 

 gradually increasing in height, till it finally reaches the eleva- 

 tion of nearly five hundred feet above the level of the sea at 

 Cape Blomidon, which is fifteen miles from Cape Split. 

 The intervening coast is constituted of regular columns of 

 trap, resting on, and alternating with amygdaloid which 

 abounds with analcime, transparent and colorless, but some- 

 times it is of an apple green color internally, and invested 

 with an opaque white crust on the surface. Heulandite here 

 occurs in crystals of uncommon size, and is associated with 

 calcareous spar in rhomboids, and with stilbite and apophyllite, 

 the last in small tabular crystals scattered over the surface of 

 the stilbite. Accompanying the analcime we found a mine- 

 ral resembling that variety of mesotype, called needlestone. 

 It occurs in tetrahedral prisms terminated by low pyramids, 

 formed by four triangular planes resting on the terminal 

 edges. One of the terminal planes is often extended at the 

 expense of the others, which it sometimes nearly obliterates. 

 This mineral occurs in groups of crystals, radiating from a 

 centre which is sufficiently compact to yield a splintery frac- 

 ture, and is white like ivory. The crystals when perfect are 

 transparent and colorless, and have a remarkable vitreous 

 lustre. They are sufficiently hard to scratch glass, and are 

 brittle. The needlestone fills cavities in the amygdaloid and 

 is always formed on the surface of the analcime, which it 

 never penetrates, but receives an impression from the crys- 

 tals of that mineral. The geodes in the quartz at this place 

 are often filled with amethystine crystals, forming successive 

 layers, and are externally incrusted with cacholong. 



Hornstone, masses of agate, &c. occur scattered among 

 the ruins of the trap rocks, which become entirely inacces- 

 sible as we approach Cape Blomidon. This cape forms an 

 abrupt termination of the north mountains, or as they are 

 called in this district, the Cornwallis Mountains, on the east. 

 This cape presents us with the outcropping of the sandstone 



Vol. XIV.— No. 2, 16 



