THE WATERFALL OF KAITEE. 
625 
titaniferous iron is contained in thin rami- 
fications through the quartz; in some 
places alternating in laminar plates of cer- 
tain thickness with it ; in others in thin 
strata by itself. It is sometimes seen like a 
black, shining varnish over the surface of 
the stones ; but, chiefly, in thin veins tra- 
versing the rock not exceeding a few lines’ 
thickness. Occasionally, between the metal 
and the quartz, in the seam, there are little 
irregular cavities, the metallic side being 
lined sometimes with a most brilliant green, 
precisely the colour and brilliancy of oxide 
of uranium ; at others, golden, scarlet, red, 
or, lastly, it has a jet black, velvety enduit. 
The titaniferous iron has a semi-conchoi- 
dal fracture — the lustre is adamantine, and, 
in some of the specimens, glimmering — it 
scratches glass — alone it is infusible before 
the blowpipe, but forms with borax a reddish 
globule, in which the particles of the metal 
are still seen, changed into the same colour 
— not magnetic, even after the action of the 
blowpipe. These two last qualities, toge- 
ther with the probability of its containing 
uranium, would make this metal approach 
to nigrine or iserine, more than to menacca- 
nite. Judging by what we see in the bank 
of the road, this metal cannot be scanty in 
quantity. In this locality our author also 
found two pretty large loose pieces of an 
iron ore apparently different ; fracture 
scaly — it shines brilliantly — is powerfully 
magnetic, and looks like chromate of iron. 
Descending into the hollow, at the head of 
Kaitee Valley, Dr. Benza found numerous 
large masses of a granitic rock, in which it is 
interesting to observe some portions of them 
entirely composed of sienite, and others of 
regular granite ; in both kinds the felspar 
being red. Many other masses (loose) were 
formed of a fine grained greenstone, 
which, when struck, rung powerfully. 
To finish the description of the whole 
valley of Kaitee, it only remains to say 
a few words, regarding the tract which ex- 
tends from the farm to the waterfall. This 
cascade is about four miles from the farm, 
and is formed by a small river, resulting 
from the waters of the valley . This valley^ 
although undulated with numerous eminences 
and hillocks, offers a very poor field for the 
geologist, their surface being uniformly 
covered by a thick stratum of red earth, and 
all rocks and asperities in the formations 
concealed beneath this stratum, which gives 
them all a tame, smooth aspect. Following 
the course of the river, within a quarter of a 
mile of the waterfall, we meet with immense 
tabular masses, slightly convex, of horn- 
blende slate, scarcely above the level of the 
soil, over the middle of which the water of 
the river flows. The strata are nearly ver- 
tical at this place, and the water has cut a 
passage in them, making a kind of trough. 
This has not been effected by the mere 
erosion of the rock by the water, but by 
its displacement in the following way. 
On arriving at the waterfall, the ledges 
forming the steps, down which the water 
precipitates itself, are clearly stratified ; 
there are two cascades, a very romantic 
parterre intervening between the two. It 
seems that this last spacious ledge is formed 
by immense tabular masses, or strata, placed 
in a horizontal position ; while those, which 
recede perhaps a hundred feet back, and 
then rise abruptly two hundred feet or more, 
forming the walls of the first fall, are verti- 
cal, and in them there is an excavation, 
similar to the one already described ; its 
depth being ten feet, but its length not ex- 
ceeding one half of the former ; specimen 
is from its side, which is the usual horn- 
blende slate. The rock which prevails in 
the Kaitee range, as well as in other places, 
is the one which abounds with hornblende 
and amorphous garnets. These last some- 
times are of a large size, and not dispersed 
through the rock, but, as it were, in nests. 
Although this primitive greenstone is. 
occasionally seen on the summit of some 
hills, in general it occupies the declivities 
or the lowest parts of them ; and it often 
assumes a brilliant, laminar crystallization, 
being then exclusively formed of hornblende. 
Dr. Benza has seen it passing into horn- 
blende slate at the foot of the Neelgherries, 
at the bottom of the Koonoor pass. Going 
from Ootacamund, towards this Seven 
Kairn’s hUl, a few hundred paces before 
the junction of these two rivers, a little to 
