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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
"by low swells of land which come down to the banks of the stream 
in broken banks of yellowish or whitish clay covered by a wild 
shrubbery, or crowned with the cabins of the negro occupants 
of the cotton plantations which are situated on these swells of 
drier land. This is the region of the famous sea-island cotton, 
a long staple variety, which brought much wealth to the planters 
in the old days of enforced labor, and still is planted with profit. 
Occasionally in the distance could be seen fine groves of pine 
or of live oak, or of deciduous trees which are scarcely yet put- 
ting on their clothing of leaves. On nearer approach though, 
we found indications of the opening spring in the yellow blos- 
some of the jessamine, the flowers of the shadbush, or the more 
showy petals of a trailing bramble ; these serve already to make 
the thickets attractive. 
The tide being low, we had some difficulty in making the 
wharf of piles with a light plank covering, which served at this 
mine as a convenience for landing coal and other supplies, and 
for shipping the phosphate rock. Landing here we found the 
buildings of the mine, and near by a locomotive awaiting to 
convey us' to the scene of operations, where the digging of the 
phosphate was going on. This engine conveyed us for a mile 
or so down along the side of the river, across broad flats, over 
much of which digging operations had been carried, resulting 
in widespread distribution of the coarse refuse of the phosphate 
beds, and the burial of the original peaty deposit, which in the 
lower lands along the river forms the natural surface. 
The overseer or manager of the mine said that the “ over- 
burden ” where they were working was rather heavy, being 
about twelve feet. There is a thickness of four or five feet of 
peat, then a bed of a foot or two with marine shells (oysters, etc.), 
then several feet of clays and sands, and finally the phosphate 
bed, containing marine shells, with bones of whales, teeth of 
sharks and bones of a number of land mammals, as mastodon, 
elephant, sloth, deer, horse, etc., all promiscuously mingled 
together, the result of a breaking up and commingling of deposits 
of various ages. Scattered through these are great numbers of 
