NORTH AMERICA. 
473 
deep bed of black or dark date coloured faline 
and fulphureous earth, which is compoled 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 dimi- 
nutive cataraCts, being conduced by perpendi- 
cular chinks or fiflures : in fome places, a portion 
of this clearwater or tranfparent vapour, feems to 
coagulate on the edges of the veins and fiflures, 
leaving a reddifli curd or jelly-like fubftance 
flicking to them, which I fhould fuppofe indicates 
it to fpring from a ferruginous fource, efpecially 
iince it difcovers a chalybeate fcent and tafte : in 
other places, thefe fiflures fhow evidently a cry- 
ilallization of exceeding fine white falls, which 
have an aluminous or vitriolic fcent: they are py- 
rites, marcafites, or fulphureous nodules, fhining 
like brafs, of various fizes and forms, fome Angle 
and others conglomerated : other places prefent 
to view, flrata of heterogeneous matter, lying be- 
tween the upper loamy flratum and the bed of 
black faline earth, confifting of various kinds of 
Tea fhells, fome whole, others broken to pieces, 
and even pulverized, which fill up the cavities of 
the entire fhells, and the interflices betwixt them: 
at other places we obferve, two or three feet be- 
low the furface or virgin mould, a flratum of four, 
five, or fix feet in depth, of brownifh marie, on a 
bed of teflaceous rocks; a petrifaction compofed 
apparently of various kinds of fea fhells, belem- 
nites, fand, &c„, combined or united with a cal- 
careous cement : thefe maffes of rocks are in fome 
places detached by veins and flrata of a hetero- 
geneous earth, confifting of fea fhells and other 
marine productions, as well as terreftrial, which 
