travels in 
5 16 
philofophical difcufliqn to the curious na'turaliffcs* 
On the Georgia fide of the river* about fifteen miles 
below Silver Bluff, the high road erodes a ridge of 
high dwelling hills of uncommon elevation, and 
perhaps feventy feet higher than the fur face of the 
river. Thefe hills, from three feet below the com- 
mon vegetative furface, to the depth of twenty or 
thirty feet, are compofed entirely of foffil cyder 
fheils, internally cf the colour and confiftency of 
clear white marble : the fheils are of incredible 
magnitude, generally fifteen or twenty inches in 
length, from fix to eight wide, and two to four in 
thick nefs, and their hollows diffident to receive an 
ordinary man’s foot : they appear all to have been 
opened before the period of petrifadion, a tranfmu- 
tation they feem evidently to have differed ; they 
are undoubtedly very ancient or perhaps antidelu- 
vian. The adjacent inhabitants bum them to lime 
for building, for which purpofe they ferve very 
well; and would undoubtedly afford an excellent 
manure when their lands require it, thefe hills be- 
ing now remarkably fertile. The heaps of lhells lie 
upon a dratum of a yellowifn fandy mould, of fe- 
veral feet in depth, upon a foundation of foft white 
rocks, that has the outward appearance of free- done, 
but on dr id examination is really a tedaceous con- 
crete or compofition of fand and pulverifed fea 
fheils : in fhort, this tedaceous rock approaches 
near in quality 7 and appearance to the Bahama or 
Bermudian white rock. 
Thefe hills are fhaded with glorious Magnolia 
grandiflora, Morns rubra, Tilia, Quercus, Ulmus, 
Juglans, &c. with aromatic groves of fragrant 
Callicanthus Floridus, Rhododendron ferrugineum, 
-Lauras Indies^ &c 9 jEfculus pavia, Cornus Flo* 
