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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
fault line. Evidently it is erosion along this line which has 
produced this long series of valleys. 
In any case, the direction of the lower Gaspereau is continued 
by the lower part of Salmon River so perfectly that there can 
be no question as to their common origin. But as this lower- 
most valley is now occupied by Salmon River, we shall consider 
it under the next note. 
The most striking feature of the Gaspereau is unquestionably 
the remarkable prevalence of sandstone cliffs, which make it 
the rockiest-walled river in the province. And these cliffs present 
collectively a very remarkable feature, viz., — on the part of 
the river above Meadow Brook, the most abundant and steepest 
cliffs, as well as the earliest met with in descending the river, 
occur as a rule on the right bank, while on the part below Meadow 
Brook the most frequent and the steepest cliffs occur on the left 
bank. Furthermore, on Salmon River the most striking cliffs 
prevail on the left bank. Obviously this phenomenon cannot 
be explained by the well-known tendency of rivers in the northern 
hemisphere to erode their right banks, in consequence of the 
earth’s rotation; and I was very much puzzled by the phenom- 
enon until I happened to notice that in all cases these greater 
cliffs have this point in common, — that they occur on the south- 
easterly sides of those rivers. Then the matter became plain, 
because all of this country has a general slope from the northwest 
to the southeast. Obviously, on a level country the current 
of a river would tend to erode both banks about equally, but 
on one with a southeasterly slope the current will be thrown by 
gravity with greater force against the southeasterly than the 
northwesterly bank, and hence will uncut the former more 
rapidly and forcibly than the latter. 
Another feature of considerable interest about the Gaspereau 
is the occurrence of a remarkable line of open barrens south of, 
and parallel with, its course, as indicated upon the map. Mr. 
Welch is my chief authority for this remarkable feature, which 
he has mapped for me, and has described substantially as follows. 
This chain of treeless heaths, about sixteen in number, extends 
from Kouchibouguac, south of Chatham, in a southwesterly 
