ENVIRONS OF NICE. 437 



fusion, sometimes leaning laterally against the first limestone, 

 sometimes presenting its edges towards it, and very often sin- 

 gularly contorted. 



With regard to its composition, it varies considerably. In 

 colour it passes from a bluish to a brownish grey ; it is some- 

 times very tough under the hammer ; very hard and close- 

 grained when it breaks in scopiformly angular fragments ; 

 faintly translucent on the edges, with somewhat of a splintery 

 fracture. Again, it occurs of a dull earthy texture, breaking 

 into rough irregular masses, and affording a strong argil- 

 laceous smell. In the compact variety, flint very often occurs, 

 dispersed irregularly through the mass, not preserving a line, 

 as it does in the first limestone, nor formed in the same dis- 

 tinct nodules, but in masses, which appear to be chemically 

 combined with the limestone. It occasionally contains a pro- 

 fusion of organic remains. This is particularly the case on the 

 peninsula of St Hospice, where in one place the rock appears 

 to be formed of a very minute variety of nautilus, mixed 

 with small numelites ; different ostreag, the pecten, and gry- 

 phite, are also found in it, with fragments of the shell of 

 the echinus. It sometimes happens that the blue marly clay 

 which accompanies the second limestone, presents itself in 

 very thick but always conformable beds ; and as nothing grows 

 upon it in high and exposed situations, it gives a very de- 

 solate appearance to the country, which, in some places, much 

 resembles the mining districts of Cornwall, from the heaps 

 of naked rubbish thrown down by decomposition. This clay 

 does not contain many shells. In a few instances, I observed 

 them sparingly distributed, and not in the perfect state I found 

 them elsewhere. There were among them both bivalves and 

 univalves ; of the last, one of the Trochus genus was peculiar, 

 from being flattened. 



The 



