518 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[September 



lime may altogether prevent the appear- 

 ance of vegetation, or cause a sickly growth. 

 Mr. Ruffin says that manure is a remedy 

 for such effects. Interesting and important 

 as the subject certainly is to the farmer, the 

 nature of this aiticle will not permit us to 

 extend our observations further, and the 

 reader is once more referred to Mr. Ruffm's 

 work on calcareous manures, in which will 

 be found much detail not written else- 

 where. 



Limestone is one of the principal rocks 

 which forms the solid crust of the globe. 

 It has a large development, and is interca- 

 lated with the primitive rocks. It occurs 

 there in a saccharoidal form of different 

 colours — grey, blue, red, &c, but never 

 black. A notabJe fact is, that no fossils of 

 any description have ever been discovered 

 in primitive limestone. It is often found 

 schistose in its structure, from a mixture 

 with other rocks, particularly mica schists. 

 As we rise in the geological series, the lime- 

 stones preponderate, and become by far the 

 most important of r< cks. Instead of being 

 subordinate and alternating with others, 

 they now form independent developments, 

 of vast extent, constituting mountain ranges. 

 The character of the rock is also changed. 

 It occurs of all colours, from black through 

 every shade to white. The mixture of for- 

 eign minerals is less notable ; but there the 

 first appearance of organic remains is a 

 most significant and interesting fact. At 

 times, no fossils are to be found; and one 

 may travel for miles without meeting with 

 a single specimen ; when, all at once, they 

 occur in prodigious quantities. The fossils 

 of this formation are all characteristic ; 

 and without giving a detailed list, I will 

 mention Orthoceratites, Spiriferes, Encri- 

 nites, and Trilobites. In the secondary 

 formation, the carbonate of lime may be 

 said to constitute the almost entire series of 

 superpositions. The secondary formations 

 are divided into several series known by 

 different names in various parts of the 

 world. The lowest of these formations im- 

 mediately overlying the intermediary is 

 called Zechstein by the Germans, and oc- 

 curs compact of a greyish black colour, 

 sometimes bituminous, and gives off a fetid 

 odour when rubbed or receiving the shock 

 of the hammer. It is characterized by 

 certain fossils, and is separated from the 

 formations immediately underlying, as those 

 overlying, by arenaceous sandstones of a 



peculiar nature. The red marl or great 

 mushelkalk limestone is the next series as 

 we travel up. In general this stone is 

 found less highly coloured, and contains 

 fossils, all of which differ from the Zech- 

 stein, and occur in much greater abundance. 

 In travelling over Germany we have often 

 spent hours in studying this interesting 

 rock through its fossils, which would show 

 themselves at different localities on our 

 journey. There is one in particular, the 

 Encrinites Liliformis, of singular beauty. 

 They are rarely found entire, but when they 

 do so occur they cannot fail to excite the 

 admiration of the observer. Rarely as the 

 entire plant is found in one specimen, so 

 common are parts of it, that the rock 

 at times would appear to be formed of 

 them. 



A third deposit now occurs, and is known 

 in England by the name of Lias, also char- 

 acterized by particular fossils; and here, 

 for the first time, we see Belemnites, and 

 Ammonites, and a large number of shells, 

 peculiar to that formation. Another de- 

 posit, which is known as the Jura limestone 

 in France, oolite and coral rag in England, 

 and which subdivides again, is, with its 

 antedivisions, distinguished, the one from 

 the other, by the fossil remains found in 

 them. In the upper part of this division 

 we have certain varieties of marl, such as 

 that at Havre, in which the chloritic grains 

 occur, as analyzed by M. Berthier; and in 

 England, at Purbeck and Portland, are 

 found marls, where fresh water shells show 

 themselves for the first time. The fifth de- 

 posit of the secondary series, separated from 

 the last described by iron sands, is the 

 chalk formation, which may be divided 

 into green ssuid and true chalk. These 

 formations contain fossils which are char- 

 acteristic and such as are found nowhere 

 else. 



The next in order, and superimposed 

 upon the preceding, is the tertiary forma- 

 tion, so interesting for the number and 

 character of its organic remains. Around 

 the city of Paris, the student has an op- 

 portunity of studying this formation per- 

 haps better than at any other locality. 

 Montmartre, so celebrated for its geology 

 and paleontology, as well as for other rea- 

 sons, in really classic ground. The remains 

 of extinct animals, buried from incalcula- 

 ble time, were frequently extracted by the 

 workmen engaged in quarrying out material 



