NORTH AMERICA. 473 
deep bed of black or dark flate coloured faline 
and fulphureous earth, which is compofed of ho- 
rizontal thin flakes or laminae, feparated by means 
of very thin, almoft imperceptible veins or flrata of 
fine micaceous particles, which drain or percolate a 
clear water, continually exuding, or trickling 
down, and forming little rills and diminutive cata- 
racts, being conducted by perpendicular chinks or 
filTures : in fome places, a portion of this clear 
water or tranfparent vapour, feems to coagulate on 
the edges of the veins and fiffures, leaving a reddifh 
curd or jelly-like fubftance flicking to them, which 
I mould fuppofe indicates it to fpring from a ferru- 
ginous fource, efpecially fmce it difcovers a chaly- 
beate fcent and tafle : in other places, thefe filTures 
mow evidently a cryflallization of exceeding fine 
white falts, which have an aluminous or vitriolic 
fcent : they are pyrites, marcafites, or fulphureous 
nodules, mining like brafs, of various fizes and 
forms, fome fingle and others conglomerated : 
other places prefent to view, flrata of heterogeneous 
matter, lying between the upper loamy flratum and 
the bed of black faline earth, confifling of various 
kinds of fea fhells, fome whole, others broken to 
pieces, and even pulverized, which fill up the cavi- 
ties of the entire fhells, and the interftices betwixt 
them : at other places we obferve, two or three 
feet below the furface or virgin mould, a flratum, 
of four, five, or fix feet in depth, of brownifh 
marie, on a bed of teftaceous rocks ; a petrifaction 
compofed apparently of various kinds of fea fhells, 
belemnites, land, &c. combined or united with a 
calcareous cement : thefe mafies of rocks are in 
fome places detached by veins and flrata of a hete- 
rogeneous earth, ccnfifling of fea fhells and other 
marine productions, as well as terreftial, which 
feem 
