NOTES AND QUERIES. 



41 



are wider in limestone than in siliceous strata. By acqiiii'ed information of the 

 imnierous examples at Alston Moor in Ciunberland, at the two Allendales in 

 K orthuml)erl;ir,d, and at AVeardale in Durham, coupled with my own observations, 

 I do not hesitate to say that the quantity of hon in veins m siliceous strata is but 

 small in com]3arison to the quantity in the same veins where they cut through 

 Ihnestone. Xot only is this the case 'in the localities quoted, but in the adjoining 

 mines of Teesdale the veins also seem to be of a more ferruginous nature in the 

 limestone than in the sandstone. The most noticeable stratum is that designated 

 the ' gTeat hmestone.' Xearly thi-ee fathoms from the top of this limestone is an 

 argillaceous bed, called the ' black-bed,' about a foot tliick. In three places of 

 the 'gi-eat limestone,' some veins minerahze for several fathoms horizontally. 

 These horizontal minerahzations are designated ' flats.' The distance from the 

 top flat, which occurs about fom- feet below the ' black bed,' is near two fj\thoms, 

 and from the middle flat to the lower one rather more than two fathoms. The heights 

 of these flats and theh distances from the vein-fissure, wliich mineralizes them, 

 vary considerably, and seem to be much influenced by the proximity of metalliferous 

 '-strings' and of other veins. In some cases where there is a complication made 

 by numerous crossings of veins, the flats will unite and form one mineral mass 

 through the compact body of the limestone nearly up to the ' black-bed.' Ores of iron 

 and lead are the chief metallic deposits. In eardale a company is now working 

 the lead-ore veins for hon, m the flats and at the mtersections. The hon is 

 obtained both by mining and fi'om open cutting's ; the latter aflbrding favourable 

 opportunities for observation, and such is the extent of the workings t1iat hundi-eds 

 of tons are sent away daily to th6 blast-fiiniaces. A siliceous bed lies close to the 

 bottom of the limestone and other two not for above it ; the baiTenness of these in 

 ferruginous matter contrasts strongly with the repletion of such matter in the 

 limestone. It may be remarked that these siliceous beds above the limestone have 

 yielded in the veins small quantities of crystallized carbonate of iron. The iron is 

 also scanty in the veins in those siliceous strata more remote from the limestone. 

 I am aware that veins in granite and siliceous schi.sts do contain a considerable 

 portion of iron, yet, I am disposed to think that the same veins might hold more 

 m hmestone, if such were present. In testing the soundness of the query, it is 

 but fair to take veins cutting through limestone and siliceous strata, and, noting 

 the thickness of each to draw tlience a comparison with the contained quantities 

 of iron. If the alcove examples are not satisfactorily suflicient for the solution of 

 the question, perhaps other local observei-s, wlio have had experience of such 

 phenomena, would be willing to give their testimony and evidence. Yom* cor- 

 respondent states, that the presence of iron materially influences the productive- 

 ness of other valuable ores. The hmestone which has just been described as 

 being rich in iron in the veins and flats, has also been exceedingly prohfic of lead- 

 ore.— Yours, &c., J. C." 



lorAxoDox Remaixs at Atherfield, Isle of "Wight. — "The remains of an 

 Iguanodon have been discovered high up in the Lower Greensand deposits of 

 A'theiiield, — namely, in the sands of Cliff" End. The whole of the skull with teeth 

 was found ; but, owing to the friable state of the remains, the manner in 

 which they were imbedded, and the impatience and unskilfulness of the finders, 

 they were'got out piecemeal ; many of the teeth had- been sold before I heard of 

 the discovery. I liave, however, secured al)out a dozen, as also some fragments 

 of the jaws and skull. The remainder of the skeleton is in the possession of the 

 discoverer. — Yours, &c. Mark W. Normax, Ventnor." 



Dura Dex. — Yellow Saxdstoxe axd Fossil Fishes. — The Rev. Dr. Ander- 

 son, of JS'ewburgh, has again been in this celebrated locality, now of world-wide 

 fame, and teUs us he has seen more fishes taken out of the solid rock than he ever 

 had an opportunity of seeing in any drag-net at any one time fi'om the waters of 

 the teeming ocean. A few workmen were engaged, and in the course of a day or 

 two_ there were laid on tlie green sward of tins lovely dell upwards of five hundred 

 fossil flashes, raised from theh marble sarcophagi— m which they have been inteiTed 

 for ages — all bright and fresh as the hving things of yesterday. One of the slabs, 

 about five feet square, contained nearly a hundi'ed specimens projecting in bold 

 relief fiom the siuface, most of them without a scale displaced, or an organ dis- 



