4'«4 ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY [January, 



On being broken tranfverfely, it was immediately feen that the 

 internal part was divided into interior or central, exterior or cortical. 

 The exterior part, which in different fpecimens occupied various pro- 

 portions of the whole, refembled a fine white and foft grit-done ; but 

 acids, being applied, {hewed it to be combined with a confiderable 

 portion of calcareous matter. The interior or central part was always 

 circular ; but was feldom found of the fame diameter, or of the fame 

 composition, on any two flumps. In fome, the calcareous and fandy 

 matter had taken fuch entire pofleffion, that every fragment of the 

 wood was completely obliterated ; but yet a faint central ring remained. 

 In others, was a centre of chalk, beautifully white, that crumbled 

 between the fingers to the fineft powder ; fome confided of chalk and 

 brown earth, in various quantities, and fome others had detained a 

 few frail portions of their woody fibres, the fpaces between which were 

 filled up with chalky earth. 



It appeared, that when the people of the Sydney-cove firft landed 

 on the ifland, the pieces of dead branches that at the time were lying 

 round the dumps, then formed, with them, the dems and branches 

 of dead trees complete. But by the time Mr. Bafs vifited the 

 place, the hands of curiofity, and the frolics of an unruly horfe that 

 was faved from the wreck, had reduced them to the date already 

 defcribed. 



Mr. Bafs had learned, from authority on which he could rely, that 

 when the trees were in a complete date, the diameter of the dead 

 wood of the dem that rofe immediately from the doney part, was 

 equal to the diameter of that part 3 and alfo that a living leaf was 

 feen upon the uppermod branches of one of them. But he could 

 not afcertain whether the doney part of the dem was of an equal 

 height in all the trees. 



To difcover to what depth the petrification had extended, Mr. Bafs 

 fcratched away thefand from the feet of many of the dumps, and 

 in no indance found it to have proceeded more than three or four 



7 inches 



